Romance In The Snow
by MidnightSakuraBlossom and SYD
Summary: Konan and Itachi Uchiha suddenly find that their dislike of Winter is bringing them closer together. Could love be in the air? Read and see all their moments together in this lonely season. COMPLETE. LAST CHAPTER: THE CONCLUSION.
1. Realization And Flickering Flames

Author's Note: I was bored and wrote this up pretty quickly. It may not have romance in the genre, but it's kinda subtle. It isn't a Itachi/Konan fic, but it is subtle in there.

No need to take this seriously though. I was just bored. And uh...forgive the OOC moments. -_-

Disclaimer: I own nothing, believe it!

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Eternal Cold And Frozen Souls:

Currently in a faraway secret base, an evil organization called the Akatsuki hide at, was nighttime. But it was no ordinary night, it was in the middle of Winter.

Yes...Winter. A very cold and lonely season. The trees are completely bare, and deep snow blankets the area. The wind is cold and bitter. And the oceans and rivers get frozen solid; staying that way until the next Spring.

The cycle repeats endlessly. And nothing can break it, that's the way it always has been and always will. Most people don't mind the cold and lonely season much, they enjoy it.

...But there still are some people, who are just as cold as the season. With bitter pasts, and a frozen heart. Nothing will ever warm them up, not even the hottest temperature in the world could.

"...I knew I shouldn't have drank all that hot cocoa before bed..." Konan muttered to herself as she walked barefoot along the corridors of the hideout. Konan hates Winter.

Konan had been asleep. She was now walking down the corridors wearing nothing but her black, silk nightgown under a dark red robe. Her blue hair was down and messy against her cheeks.

The blue-haired woman shivered slightly as she walked on the cold floor. But she braced it anyway. After all, she'd been cold all her life. And why should it be any more different.

She took a deep sigh and walked. However, she passed the living room since it was close by. Konan had no idea what made her want to walk through the living room. It was as if some strange force guided her there.

"..." Konan silently walked into the entrance and stood there in the doorway.

What was in the living room before her was Itachi Uchiha, one of the fellow members of the organization. He sat there on the floor on a cushion. He was wearing the silk Akatsuki pajamas. And he looked as if he was just...staring at the flames burn in the fireplace.

Konan blinked and then she took a step forward. She shivered slightly as she did, it was either the creepy scene or the cold wind that easily came through the thin walls.

Konan then continued walking up towards him, when she was right behind him she crossed her arms.

"...Hey..." Konan muttered in her cold tone.

Itachi then looked up at her very expressionless as always. But the aura coming off of him felt bitter cold and it made Konan kind of feel like she made a mistake of coming close to him. After all, she never actually did talk to Itachi much since she's been there.

"..." Itachi just stared at her and then turned his attention back to the flames.

Konan bit her lip and then ran her fingers through her messy hair. She had no idea how on earth she could start up a conversation with one of the most cold and lifeless people she knows. And then again, she hardly knows him at all.

Maybe it was just the fact that she wanted to talk to somebody. After all, she was pretty distant to the other members; only ever talking to Pain, if ever. Konan was just as lifeless as the season.

Winter can be beautiful with it's thick snow and blustery winds, but it isn't always. Usually the only thing you can see is a deserted area covered in snow with a few branches that broke. That's what makes the paper mistress wonder why people would even call it beautiful.

"...What are you doing at this hour?" Konan finally brought herself to ask.

Itachi just stared at the flames before him. He pretty much ignored her. But she felt the aura become more colder.

How could she even feel this aura? She's pretty much used to it. Although you can't see the aura you can still feel it, and this one was pretty lifeless and cold. Konan felt as if she was standing in a graveyard in the rain.

Konan then sighed and turned around to walk away. Why should she even try to talk to a person who never talks back? It's simply idiotic.

"...What are you doing up at this hour? That is the question." Itachi asked without turning around, just as she made it to the doorway.

Konan's normal lifeless and the look of regret face expression turned one of confusion as she turned around.

"Um...I don't really know. Maybe I just needed a walk." Konan replied as she walked back over.

Itachi nodded and then looked down at his hands, which were being opened and closed repeatedly.

Konan was a little unsure of what to say or do next. She did something completely risky: she sat down next to him on the other cushion.

As the woman sat down, she felt his aura become slightly less cold. But it also felt a little restless and confused.

"...It is cold." Itachi said in a low tone.

Konan blinked and then she closed her eyes and nodded.

"Yes it is. I always feel cold all the time. But this season...this season makes it worse." Konan replied as she ran her fingers over her thick robe that hardly kept her warm.

Itachi then turned his head and stared right Konan. It made her bite her lip and feel weird briefly. Because his face just looked so lifeless like always. The fire glow light it up in the dark room. His raven hair was still perfectly fixed as if he never even went to bed, and his dark and lifeless onyx eyes just added to that whole look. Konan had no idea why, but she felt some heat rise to her cheeks as his gaze was fixed on her.

It couldn't have been from the fire, no. Because not even fires can warm her up. Maybe she was just nervous about actually socializing with somebody other then Pain for once.

"Yeah...this cold and lifeless season always does nothing to help me. I just remain the same: cold." Itachi responded.

Konan nodded without saying a word. She then closed her eyes and turned back to face the fire. She completely understood what he was saying; he was referring to the season's deserted feeling.

"..I-I understand completely. I mean, not even these fire flames can warm me up. I'll always be cold...forever." Konan replied, her eyes opening and staring at the flames showing no signs of looking away.

Itachi shook his head and crossed his arms.

"...Never going to feel joy..." Itachi said in almost a whisper.

Konan brushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes and narrowed her eyes.

"...Always going to feel cold and frozen..." Konan finished in almost a whisper.

The two then glanced at each other with expressionless looks. Konan actually felt a pang of sympathy right then.

"...Is it never going to be different?" Konan asked as she shifted around.

Itachi shook his head.

"It never will." Itachi replied in his lifeless tone.

The paper mistress and the Uchiha continued to stare at each other. They occasionally saw the flames flicker in the corner of their eyes though. The only sound was their breathing, the flames burning, and the blustery wind outside where a big bought of snow now covered the outside of the base and the whole building itself.

"...I should probably be going now." Konan said as she turned around and proceeded to stand up.

Itachi then blinked and stood up himself.

The two were now standing right in front of each other, the cold and bitter aura coming off Itachi wasn't as rough as before. But the aura coming off Konan was now a little less cold, but it was also concerned.

"Wait. Before you leave, answer this question." Itachi said.

Konan rose an eyebrow quizzically at him, but she then nodded and motioned for him to continue talking.

Itachi looked as if he was trying to find a way to ask the question. But Konan knew better. She knew that he's always one step ahead of everybody in conversations if he ever does exchange in one.

"...Why did you choose me out of all the other members to talk to?" Itachi asked.

That question took Konan for surprise she blinked repeatedly in confusion and actually started shuffling her feet.

"I don't know why. Maybe because...we possibly understand each other. See you tomorrow." Konan replied as she started walking away.

Itachi stood there as Konan walked away. He didn't quite understand what she meant at first as he sat back down in front of the fireplace. But after a few seconds, the words registered in his head and a faint pink blush dusted over his cheeks. He was glad nobody else was there to see it.

However, he was unaware that a certain blond artist was stealthily hidden around the corner of the wall near the fireplace. He was smirking and holding a camera which had just taken a few pictures. Luckily the flash wasn't able to see.

"Heh...just wait until I get these developed Itachi, yeah." Deidara said to himself.

Deidara then snickered slightly and silently walked away, he was shivering from the cold air so he couldn't break out into a victory dance like he wanted to.

…...

Meanwhile, Konan was walking back through the cold corridors of the base. The cold wind nipped at her face, but she was alright with that. She had the tiniest smile on her face and her cheeks were bright red. It certainly wasn't from the semi-warm heat of the base.

Secretly, the blue-haired woman liked the fact that she had a small conversation with Itachi. It was just nice to be able to talk to someone with a cold and frozen heart that will never be thawed.

Just maybe, Konan could talk a little more to the other members. Maybe just a tad more then giving them her infamous glares that could scare all nine tailed beasts and make them run in fear.

...Winter's such a mysterious season. The beauty is very hard to understand and the snow freezes everything in sight. But it's meant to be. After all, why fight the seasons?

When you have somebody who understands you a tad at least, why hate a nice season when you could spend time with that person? Even someone with a cold heart, can have fun sometimes.

And as Konan made it to her room and removed her robe, she walked over to the window and opened it.

"...It's beautiful..." Konan muttered to nobody with a small smirk on her face.

The snowflakes blew around in the cold and gusty wind quite softly. And the bright and twinkly stars added to that beauty as the moon gently reflected it high up in the air.

"...Tomorrow there should be a huge blanket of snow covering the outside..." Konan commented as she scanned the area.

As a small snowflake flew and landed on Konan's extended hand, she knew exactly what she'd do the next morning to try and open up.

...She'd challenge all the other Akatsuki members including Pain to a big snowball fight...

_End._

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….Well? I wonder how it is. The only way I'll know, is when I get reviews!

I have a few comments for it though. See, it's been SO HOT outside currently. And this fic may seem kinda out of season. Well it is, because it adds to the tragic appeal. I think snow really sets the setting for a story with a tragic appeal. And plus, I'm burning up and slurping down some cold water trying to imagine a cold area to cool off! ^_-

Anyway, please read and review!


	2. Snowball Fights And Lust For Attention

Author's Note: Guess what. I'm turning 'Eternal Cold And Frozen Souls' into a series of one-shots! :) Now let's clear this up before we start: the first two; this one and previous are connected together. But rest aren't meant to be as one and they just kind of be separated.

This series is mainly to dwell on the Wintertime and it's about Konan and Itachi's same dislike of the season that brings them together. After all, they both are pretty lifeless when you think about it...-_- ….But I like 'em anyway! ;)

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Eternal Cold And Frozen Souls:

Chapter Two...

Winter is a very lonely and cold season; not to everybody but to a few people it is. Usually some actually enjoy the lonely season and take in it's deserted beauty. Most will walk through the snow and admire it's lonely appeal, yet others will sit at home and chat with friends and family; becoming quite close with them.'

But Itachi and Konan, two members of the deadly S-ranked Akatsuki, don't have either friends or family. ...However that isn't completely true; Itachi has part of the latter, but they are far from being close. Konan really doesn't have either. Her old sensei is dead, and her family's in unknown status.

The only thing that might connect these two, is the fact that they both have bitter and angst-filled pasts.

"...I was right last night."

Konan had the tiniest smile on her face as she gazed out the window. The outside of the base was covered in a blanket of thick and puffy snow. Although Konan was kind of happy about that; she still frowned at her dislike of the season.

The blue-haired woman closed her eyes and walked away from the window. She then proceeded to get dressed for the day since she had a good plan on how to thaw her cold heart by attempting to bond with the other guys in the organization.

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Meanwhile as the snow built up even more outside, the other members were getting ready to head to the kitchen for some breakfast. Most of them where already there getting ready to eat.

Sometime after the meal, the freezing snow had built up a lot and Konan put on a cold expression as she nonchalantly walked up to the one person she knew would be easy to convince: Kakuzu.

"...Hey, I have something to tell you." Konan muttered in her cold tone as she leaned into his ear.

Kakuzu gasped from not realizing that the cold and bitter paper mistress was there.

"What the heck? Konan? Why are you even talking to...me? Can't you see I'm busy?" Kakuzu shouted as he jumped.

Konan crossed her arms.

"You're just counting money. You do that twenty four hours a day." Konan pointed out.

Kakuzu sighed and set down a money bag.

"Well...duh! SOMEBODY has to do it. And anyway, why are you talking to me? You hardly even look at everybody other then the leader." Kakuzu asked.

That made the blue-haired woman close her eyes and inwardly wince.

'...I can't do this know. I can't possibly open up to these guys since I'm always so distant...I have to think very quickly here...' Konan thought.

Konan shivered slightly from the cold air that came through the thin walls of the base.

"...Kisame threw a bag of money out the window and into the snow." Konan said as she opened her eyes and brushed her hair.

Kakuzu's world stopped spinning at that point. He froze up and started hyperventilating.

Konan's eyes widened but her frown remained. She put her hands over her mouth as the money-loving member continued to hyperventilate.

Hidan then randomly strolled through the room and froze in his tracks when he saw the odd scene between his partner and the lone-female member.

"...Hidan!" Konan said as she whipped her head towards him while hitting Kakuzu's lungs as he hyperventilated.

Hidan took in the scene and narrowed his eyes.

"...No. I really don't want to know..." Hidan said.

Hidan then shook his head and left the room.

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By the time Kakuzu stopped hyperventilating, the snow continued to thicken outside. And it added to the Winter appeal. But as Konan stared off into space while looking out at it, she couldn't help but continue to yearn for some socializing.

'...I WILL do this...' Konan thought as she clenched her cold hands into fists.

She then sharply turned around to Kakuzu who wasn't hyperventilating, but freaking out.

"Wait...WAIT! Kisame THREW a bag of money out into the darn snow?" Kakuzu asked as he grabbed Konan's shoulders.

Konan grunted and pulled away from his grip.

"Yes." Konan replied.

Kakuzu gasped.

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH HIM? NO! I HAVE TO GO GET IT!" Kakuzu shouted.

And at the speed of light, Kakuzu ran out into the snow. Konan couldn't help but smirk slightly as her plan was falling perfectly into place.

No longer would Konan yearn and lust for some socializing in the lonely and tragic season. She would get the attention she wanted; and no more distant ways. However, being bitter and distant is just her nature...which is going to make the latter quite tough to fulfill. And without a second thought, Konan nonchalantly walked out the door with him.

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And once Konan stepped outside, she opened he mouth slightly and was caught off guard by the sight before her; the area was covered in a thick blanket of snow. And the sun made it shimmer and glow. The snowflakes gently fell from the sky and onto her extended hands in different shapes.

Most would find a sight like that rather beautiful. But not to the woman. She saw no reason to be attracted by it's appeal and go crazy.

...All that mattered at the moment was finding Kakuzu.

"WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS IT?"

Konan whipped her head up and looked into the distance to see Kakuzu looking high and low for the 'bag of money' she then smirked and rubbed her hands together. Now was the time to do it.

Konan quickly bent over and grabbed some of the puffy snow. She then skillfully shaped it into a snowball and aimed it at the other member.

Meanwhile, Kakuzu growled when he realized that Konan lied.

"Darn it! I can't believe I fell for-HEY!" Kakuzu shouted when something cold hit the back of his head.

Kakuzu whipped his head around to see Konan smirking and standing there with her hands on her hips.

"What the heck, Konan?" Kakuzu growled.

Konan sighed.

"It's a snowball fight, idiot." Konan replied.

Kakuzu took a step back.

"Why? This ain't like you at all! You must be setting me up..." Kakuzu said.

Konan furrowed her eyebrows together as the snow continued to repeat it's cycle and fall. She then sighed deeply and turned around to walk off.

"Just forget it. I really don't know why I even-AAAH!" Konan shouted when something cold hit her back; soaking her cloak.

She turned around to see Kakuzu holding snowballs and acting all nonchalant.

"...Wasn't me..." He said.

Konan rolled her eyes.

"I see now, If that's really how it's going to be then let's do this thing..." Konan said as she grabbed some of the much disliked snow.

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For the next ten minutes, the two Akatsuki members skillfully did their snowball fight. And Konan actually felt kind of...happy. But yet that wasn't enough for her. She needed much more attention.

In order for somebody as cold and bitter as the season, trying to open up to those around would be quite the challenge. But even though Konan despises the season she's willing to make that effort.

Meanwhile, Deidara and Tobi walked up to the base. Tobi was all enthusiastic over the snow and Deidara was scowling and yelling at him the whole way.

Suddenly, Tobi stopped walking and gasped.

"Senpai! What's that?" Tobi asked as he pointed.

Deidara squinted to look in the distance.

"DIRECT HIT! Got 'ya Konan!"

"Lies! You missed me completely, idiot!"

"No way! I saw it clearly hit you're shoulder! Don't act so-AAH! COLD!"

"...And THAT is what you get!"

Deidara rolled his eyes.

"It's just Kakuzu and Konan having a snowball fight, yeah." Deidara replied.

Reality dawned on the two and their eyes widened...well nobody truly knew if Tobi's eyes widened, and looked back and forth at the scene and each other.

"...Yay! Snowball fight! Let's join!" Tobi cheered as he ran off.

Deidara groaned and followed after him. All he wanted to do was report to Pain about the mission, drink some warm coffee, soak into a steamy bubble bath, and then blackmail Itachi. Not join a stupid snowball fight. But unknown to him; Konan was getting ready to aim a snowball at him since she saw him.

Deidara then yelped when a snowball flew towards him at least 89 MPH. He then dodged and glared at the thrower: Konan.

"What the heck was that, yeah?" Deidara snapped.

Konan rolled her eyes.

'How can you be so stupid? ...Wait...maybe it's the blond thing. But...no...he's just confused.' Konan thought.

"Snowball fight, Senpai!" Tobi cheerfully replied.

Deidara sighed and walked into the area where the three where.

"Can you stop, yeah? This is just idiotic, and what if-HOLY KAMI!" Deidara shouted as three snowballs flew at him at exactly 90 MPH. He yelped as they all hit him in the face.

Tobi laughed, Konan put her hands over her mouth to hide her huge grin, and Kakuzu started snickering.

Deidara scowled menacingly at them and wiped the snow off his face.

"Oh, it's so ON now, yeah!" Deidara declared as he grabbed some snow and mixed it with clay in his hand mouths.

"Show us what 'ya got!" Kakuzu said as he aimed some more snowballs.

Konan then grabbed some snow, as did Tobi. And they both started making more snowballs.

And surprisingly, Konan felt like her passion for attention was slightly being fulfilled as they did the snowball fight. Maybe Wintertime wasn't so bad? No wait...impossible for her. There's no way that Konan could let those thoughts entire her mind.

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Meanwhile inside the base, Itachi and Kisame were sitting in their room. Kisame was doing something to his chakra eating sword and Itachi was lying on his bed just...staring at the ceiling. He felt even more cold and bitter during the Winter. But strangely, since the night before when he talked briefly with the paper mistress, Itachi found himself less cold and frozen. He also would briefly let his thoughts revolve around her. Questions like: 'Why Konan? Why did she pick me? Is Konan like me? Why was I blushing after that? Is there more?' Were raging through the mind of the Uchiha. And he didn't understand it at all.

All things were quite. Itachi just stared blankly at the ceiling and Kisame took the bandages on the sword and threw them to the side. But this silence was broken by:

"My new art will blow you all away...because...FROZEN ART IS AN EXPLOSION!"

Then the entire base was shook with a huge explosion and a mini-blizzard started up outside.

"Not fair, Senpai! ...Hey! It's Kakuzu! TAKE THIS!"

"AH! HEY! THAT WAS TOO FAST!"

"Will you men stop shouting? If you don't...KYAAAAA!"

Kisame sighed and punched the table.

"Itachi, what is all that racket?" Kisame shouted.

Itachi tuned out to all the noise. He hadn't even heard what his partner said. Was it just the lonely and nostalgic feeling of the season? It could possibly be.

"...achi...Itachi? Itachi? ….ITACHI?" Kisame yelled.

Itachi shifted his gaze over to Kisame.

"Can you look outside the window and see what all that racket is? I can't work with all that in my ears!" Kisame asked.

Itachi sighed and slowly got up from the bed. Then he made his way over to the window and opened it; although the sunlight blinded him in the process.

When he looked out the window, he saw Konan, Tobi, Kakuzu, and Deidara outside in the snow apparently having a snowball fight as different snowflakes in many forms came down. Konan was hiding behind a snow-fort with snowballs in her hands, Kakuzu was out in the open dodging them, Deidara was molding snow with clay and creating several mini-explosions, and Tobi was throwing snowballs like a machine in various directions.

"GOT YOU NOW, KONAN! THIS IS FOR EARLIER!"

"Wha-hey!"

"Tobi's joined Kakuzu's side!"

"Good. Then I don't have you on my side! Where was I? ...oh now I remember. TASTE MY FROZEN ART, YEAH!"

Itachi blinked as he watched them. He thought that they were acting like idiots out there and was very surprised that Konan was out there with them.

In this cold and deserted season, it's amazing how one of the fellow members that has the same kind of frozen heart could actually enjoy herself like that in the snow.

Itachi resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he saw Zetsu randomly appear into the scene and Sasori walk out there.

"...Look! It's Zetsu and Sasori!"

"Huh? What do they want? Unless they don't have any money, then they're useless..."

"..."

"Wait until Sasori sees my frozen art...IT WILL BE EPIC! SO EPIC! AN EPIC EXPLOSION THAT WILL WIPE EVERYBODY OUT, YEAH!"

"Deidara! Stop shouting! I'm right behind you! ...TOBI, THAT'S COLD! STOP!"

"**What the heck is going on? Why is everybody acting like morons out here?**"

"_Why, they're having a snowball fight, Zetsu. We should join it, it could be quite some fun after all..._"

And within two seconds, Konan convinced the two to join in; she threw snowballs at them and called them weaklings.

Itachi's eye twitched as everybody started attacking each other with snowballs. He couldn't believe that even though this cold season was raging on ten fold; some people were out there in it and loving it.

But the Uchiha didn't understand them. Or anybody for that matter. Just when he thought he knew Konan, she switched completely. Maybe Itachi really had nobody after all...

But these thoughts were interrupted when a snowball suddenly flew at Itachi at 100 MPH. He yelped as it hit him right in the face. And the members outside gasped and looked up at the window.

"...**I knew this was a bad idea.**"

"_Don't say that, Zetsu! Itachi probably understands..._"

"Who threw that one? It wasn't me, I was healing my frozen hand."

"It wasn't me. I was getting ready to combine the snow with my paper cranes."

"Then who the heck did it?"

"...Tobi did it..."

"Wha-SERIOUSLY? You just...you just shocked Itachi and hit him with a snowball...AWESOME! THAT WAS SO GREAT! I 'gotta give 'ya points for that, Tobi! IT WAS SPOT-ON! IT HIT HIM RIGHT IN THE FACE, YEAH! WHOA! LET'S DO IT AGAIN! BUT WITH SOME EXPLOSIONS, YEAH!"

Itachi glared at them while wiping the snow off his face. His sharingan now activating.

"Hey Itachi, you want a piece of me? Come get it!"

"Tobi's weirdly right, yeah! Come and fight! Come and fight so I can wipe you off the face of the earth, yeah!"

Itachi trembled and then closed the window and walked away. He then grabbed his cloak and put it on as he walked out of the room leaving a confused Kisame behind.

"...Hmm...maybe I might as well follow him before he murders somebody..." Kisame muttered to himself as he stood and followed Itachi out of the room.

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As Itachi and Kisame walked through the bitter cold base to get outside, they passed by Hidan who was drinking some coffee in the living room.

"Jashin, it's freakin' cold today..." Hidan muttered to himself.

Then he looked up and saw Itachi with his sharingan activated and snow on his face. And Kisame snickering.

Hidan's eye twitched.

"Why is everyone f_up today? First Konan and Itachi, now you two! D_this place is so screwed up during Winter!" Hidan shouted/cursed in annoyance.

Itachi glared at the immortal member.

"Don't remind me that it is Winter." Itachi warned as he walked off.

Kisame sighed and followed him. And Hidan shrugged his shoulders and followed the two.

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Back outside in the cold and lonely snow, the snowball fight raged on quite hard. It was an all-out fight, and Konan, Deidara, and Sasori were shaking things up ninja-style: Konan was combing the snowballs with paper, Deidara was molding the snow with clay, and Sasori was able to melt the snowballs being thrown at him by using the flamethrowers built on him. (It scared the heck out of Tobi in the process; making him drop his snowballs and cower behind Konan's fort.)

And as fun as it was, Konan still couldn't help but still feel cold-hearted and frozen. Is there nothing that would melt her icy heart?

Then Itachi, Kisame, and Hidan ran into the area and got the five's attention in mid-fight.

"Hey! What the F_are you D_idiots doing out here?" Hidan shouted.

Kisame crossed his arms.

"Yeah! You're all acting crazy out here in some stupid snow! Do you even realize that you are all S-rank criminals acting like children?" Kisame shouted.

The five all exchanged looks and sighed. Then Tobi, Zetsu, and Konan each got a snowball and threw them at the three.

Itachi gasped and easily dodged Zetsu's, Hidan cursed loudly and got hit in the face by Konan's snowball, and Kisame yelped and dodged Tobi's...but somehow it bounced back like a boomerang and hit him in the back of the head.

"F_blue-haired B_! What the H_was that?"

"TOBI! YOUR DARN SNOWBALL BOUNCED AROUND LIKE A BOOMERANG! THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

"..."

Konan smirked and aimed another snowball.

"...You in?" Konan asked.

Hidan's eye twitched and the aura around him was as cold and bitter as the season.  
"D_right, B_! I'll beat the S_'outta you and you'll be begging for some F_-" Hidan yelled but Deidara cut him off by shouting.

"WE GET IT, YEAH! SHUT UP!"

Hidan and Kisame then grabbed some snow and made snowballs without a second thought; it was so on. Meanwhile Itachi didn't give in to the challenge. He just stood there looking emotionless and well...like stone. Konan was secretly smirking as she threw two snowballs at Tobi, four at Zetsu, and two at Kisame all at once. But her smirk instantly faded when she saw the Uchiha.

The snowball fight raged on. And Itachi just stood by the side lines watching it in...thought? Konan took glances at him once in a while but he always looked the same. And she wanted to open to up to all the members including him. How was it so hard for her to do that?

The fight was kind of intense and snowballs flew and cries were heard. Some would think that they were bonding. But...the question is...'are they really all coming together over snow?'

Everybody was so into the fight, that they didn't see Pain violently open the door to the base and walk out in front of the area. His eye's widened when he saw everybody.

Itachi was standing on the sidelines as. But Konan was standing behind a snow fort mixing snowballs in paper, Tobi was throwing snowballs like a machine at various people, Kakuzu was wrestling with Kisame who was attempting to hit him in the face with snow, Deidara was making mini explosions with clay and snow molded together, Zetsu's dark half was trying to eat Sasori (who was throwing snow in his eyes) and his white half was trying to make him stop, and Hidan was cursing while trying to make snowballs that came out as 'snow-rectangles'.

And just before Pain could even think about reacting, Kisame grunted and threw Zetsu into a snow drift. Then he gathered some snow into a snowball and growled with rage as he waved his arm around. Then the snowball slipped out of his hand and sailed through the sky at 99 MPH; it hit Pain in the face and he yelped which caused all the other members to gasp and freeze in mid-fight.  
"Oh...F_..."

"This was all Konan's fault...I did nothing..."

"Can it, Sasori, yeah!"

"WE'RE ALL DOOMED!"

"**Shut up!**"

Pain then sighed and wiped the snow off his face. He crossed his arms and eyed the other members.

"What is going on out here?" Pain asked.

Zetsu's white half was the first one to break down:

"_Oh, Leader Pain! We are so sorry! It was all a big, immature snowball fight! I BEGGED them to stop, I REALLY did try!_" Zetsu's white half explained.

Pain blinked.

"...Wanna join?" Deidara asked as he forced a smile and aimed a snowball/clay-ball at him.

"...Do I look like I'd do something like that, Deidara?" Pain asked.

Kakuzu coughed and Pain glared at him and then sighed.

"...Okay listen, I don't know what possessed you all to do something so childish, so I think it's best if we all-OH, MY KAMI!" Pain shouted as a snowball flew at him, he then dodged.

"Will you join now?"

Pain scowled and glared at Konan who was the thrower.

"...Yes..." Pain mumbled as he grabbed some snow.

Tobi gasped and hid behind Konan's fort and Sasori readied his flamethrower.

"Bring it on, A_!" Hidan yelled as he aimed his...'snow-rectangles'.

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The fight raged on with Pain joining in. And Itachi still stood on the sidelines...not even once looking in their direction. Konan sighed and stealthily sneaked away from the battle field and walked up to Itachi.

"Itachi, why are you being a darn stick in the mud?" Konan asked as she put her hands on her hips.

Itachi blinked and turned around to face the blue-haired woman.

"..."

Konan trembled slightly.

"I thought you would at least try and join in, but it looks like you won't ever fit in! You are just so...distant...and maybe I am to, but I worked F_hard to gather everybody here! I will not sit and allow my hard work to just be wasted. So...you mope around all you want to!" Konan snapped as she scowled at him.

Itachi just stared at her as the cold snow continued to fall. And Konan huffed and turned around starting walking away.

"...It's fate anyway." Konan added in almost a whisper as she walked away with her arms crossed over her chest to warm herself.

However, as she walked away, her eyes widened and she yelped when something cold hit her in the back of her head and seeped through her cloak. There was no mistake, it was a snowball. The lone-female member turned around to see Itachi holding a snowball; he still had no emotion on his face but she could sense the change in aura.

"What? What the heck are you-are you accepting my offer?" Konan asked as she stared at him.

Itachi closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I suppose I am. However, I wouldn't normally do this so don't get used to it." Itachi replied.

Konan briefly grinned but then she forced a scowl and turned around with her arms crossed.

"I don't know, Itachi. After all, you can't convince me all that easily..." Konan said with a forced yawn, a wicked smirk briefly crossed her lips.

Itachi just gathered more snow, unknown to her though.

"...You honestly expect me to-AAH! HEY!" Konan shouted as three snowballs hit her back and the cold feeling seeped through.

Konan then scowled for real and turned around with her hands clenched into fists while he stood there with his arms crossed.

"Oh...it is ON now!" Konan declared as she rolled up her sleeves and took paper from her own skin.

The blue-haired member then let out a rare battle cry as she charged at Itachi. But he wasn't expecting that and was rarely caught off guard. His eyes widened as she tackled him and they both went rolling down the little hill.

The two rolled down the hill and got covered in cold snow as they finally stopped. When they stopped they couldn't help but feel awkward as by the position they were in: Konan lay over Itachi as he was under her. The both of them looked surprised and their eyes were wide when they realized just how close they were.

It had seemed that time slowed down. Everything felt so right, and they didn't care that they were looking like complete idiots lying there in the thick snow as it fell over them in a repeated cycle.

The two just stared at each other for several seconds. The area was so beautiful yet so...hated by them. The snow seemingly glittered as it fell, the snow built up on the ground was puffy and soft, the sun was getting ready to set and reflected off the area well with the leaf-less trees. A part of Itachi and Konan, wanted to stay like that forever.  
"...Konan..." Itachi mumbled as he stared.

Konan blushed bright pink.

"...Itachi..." Konan said in almost a whisper.

Time continued to slowly pass.

'...What is this? What is this feeling?' Itachi thought.

'This is crazy...my heart feels like it's about to beat right of my chest...' Konan thought.

Several more seconds passed, and Konan started slowly leaning forward as her heart nearly thumped right out of her chest as her eyes closed.

Itachi just stared wide eyed as he realized that there was possibly no more distance between them and their foreheads more touching. He silently wished that she couldn't feel the heat that now burned his entire face.

'This is it...' Konan thought.

'Why am I not resiting? Do I really want this?' Itachi thought as he slowly leaned forward as well.

And their lips nearly touched, but the entire moment was destroyed by a loud whistle.

"Ah, so this is where they went. They wanted a little 'alone time' I see..."

Itachi and Konan gasped and looked over at Kisame and Hidan.

"How...F_sweet this is..." Hidan commented.

Itachi and Konan blushed furiously and quickly scrambled up from the ground and wiped the snow off themselves.

"...Shut up!" Konan snapped at them.

Kisame crossed his arms and smirked.

"...It may have seemed...that way but it wasn't!" Konan assured as she clenched her hands into fists and walked off; taking some paper and sending origami cranes to attack the two men seemed so tempting as she walked away.

When she was out of their sight, Hidan and Kisame turned to look at Itachi who had his sharingan activated.

"...Never speak of this again." Itachi threatened as he glared at them and walked off.

Meanwhile, Kisame and Hidan stood there in the snow. And it continued to fall in it's un-breakable repeated cycle that could never end.

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Some time after that, the snowball fight ended when everybody collapsed from exhaustion. Pain declared that they go inside and rest up. Everybody then accepted that and walked into the base to relax after all that.

Each of them knew exactly what they were going to do: Pain was going to go straight to bed, Sasori was going to get the snow that built up in him out, Deidara was going to go take a steamy shower and then begin his secret plan of blackmailing Itachi, Hidan was going to do a ritual, Kakuzu was going to count money up, Zetsu was going to get something to eat, and Tobi was going to do who-knows-what.

As the snow started up again outside, Itachi sat on the couch in the living room just...staring out at it. He was probably in thought; that's what it seemed.

Konan meanwhile walked into the living room quietly and still felt un-satisfied. Sure she was able to spend time with everybody and fulfill some her passion for attention. Just all that wasn't enough to the paper mistress. She NEEDED some more socialization with SOMEBODY. And that's when she spotted Itachi.

...Now she didn't really want to face him after what happened earlier. But she had nobody else who she could really 'talk' to that would understand her cold and bitter ways. And plus, it seemed that an unknown kind of force led her there. But she discarded that theory; it would be too weird.

"...Hey, Itachi." Konan greeted coldly as she sat down next to him.

Itachi then turned his head around to look at her; she was fidgeting slightly.

"..."

Konan bit her lip and avoided eye contact as the sudden silence overcame them. She didn't really know just how to start a conversation with him now. It just felt real awkward since what happened.

Itachi saw her in the corner of his eye and finally spoke up.  
"...Cold?"

Konan blinked.

"Huh?" Konan mumbled. Konan looked down and saw she was hugging herself from the cold air. "Oh, um...yes. Yes I am..." Konan replied lamely.

Itachi ran his fingers through his hair.  
"...What about now?" Itachi asked as he inched closer to her a bright pink blush dusting over his face in the process.

Konan closed her eyes as heat once again rose to her cheeks.

'Oh...definitely not anymore...' Konan thought.

Konan warily opened her eyes and glanced down to see her right hand interlocked with his left hand; which caused her to only turn a shade redder; but she tried to make it inconspicuous by pulling her cloak collar higher over her cheeks.

"...I'm not so cold anymore. 'Just a little surprised and embarrassed is all...but oh, well...'" Konan replied and thought.

The two then stayed like that for several seconds. They were looking at the window and watching the snow fall innocently from the sky and repeat it's endless cycle. Itachi and Konan would also occasionally take quick glances at each other, but end up looking everywhere but the other person.

Like said before, Winter is a very lonely and cold season. But sometimes, it's appeal can catch you up in the moment and a person you wouldn't expect could pleasantly surprise you. Maybe Winter isn't completely bad after all? ...Then again, those thoughts could be considered crazy. After all, these two souls are very frozen and may never even thaw...

_End._

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And...done! Well, there's the ending of the first one-shot. The first two are kind of connected together. This one finishes the first out. Uh...do you get it? -_-'

Anyway...I had a lot of ideas on how to write the snowball fight. But actually, the part with Pain joining in on the fight wasn't really supposed to turn out that way...I wasn't even going to add him in...but I kind of did it on a whim. ^^'

Also, I'm just so used to writing humor all the time that a little bit kinda slipped through. At at least two parts. Oh, and Sasori kinda disappeared from the story at times 'cause I can't really portray him the right way and made him sort of absent...-_-'

Read and review~! It's the ONLY way to see another update~! ;)


	3. Denied Feelings And A Repeated Cycle

Author's Note: Sorry for the wait. I got writer's block again. -_-'

And I'm sorry about this chapter; it's length and all...it was really the best I could do with trying to recover from writer's block.

Oh, and don't pay attention to my (cough) ranting at the end of this chapter...it's not important and un-needed. -_-'

Random Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...and I don't own ANY characters. But what I might own, is this fic's odd plot...so no stealing without permission, 'ya here? :P

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Eternal Cold And Frozen Souls:

_Chapter Three_:

Winter.

Everybody knows about the season? Everybody does. It always comes around every year but it never seems to change at all.

...And how would it? It couldn't just _stop_ being cold, or _stop_ snowing, and it couldn't _stop_ becoming nighttime faster then in other seasons.

All around, it couldn't _stop_ at all. It couldn't stop and would never stop it's repeated cycle...and many know that:

especially two very _similar_ members of the feared organization known as the Akatsuki: Konan and Itachi Uchiha.

"So cold..."

Konan shivered as she wrapped a towel around her wet body and stepped out of the shower. She had just taken a warm shower so she could warm up after being out in the snow with the snowball fight; the shower didn't even begin to warm her.

And how could a _shower_ warm her up anyway? It was tough to face: she would always be cold. But not so much as in feeling, but her personality.

Then again, it was her nature to be cold. Besides, is there really any way around that? _No there isn't_.

'...I still am cold.' Konan thought.

She shivered again and walked over to the bathroom sink and gazed into the mirror.

What did she see? She saw a blue-haired woman who _needed_ some social interaction, attention, acceptance, and some _understanding_ from at least one soul..._one soul_ who shared the same _fate_.

"Not even that snowball fight gave me a chance to open up to everybody. How is it that I cannot earn some understanding?" Konan ranted aloud.

She then furrowed her eyebrows together and exited the bathroom; entering her bedroom.

As she entered, she quickly slipped of her towel and changed into her clothes. After all, it was real cold. She then got dressed and walked over to her mirror; now brushing her hair.

"...The only person I actually got a little social interaction from was _Itachi_-" Konan commented but cut herself off as her eyes widened.

'Itachi...does he think that I _purposely _set everything up just to...get us both into a _awkward_ position on purpose? ...Would he think that? ...Maybe not...' Konan thought as she brushed her hair.

She then closed her eyes and sighed in dismay. She hoped that Itachi didn't think anything about that; after all, it was real awkward how they ended up like that...

The romantic area surrounding them didn't help either. _Not at all_.

And then not only that, but then returning inside and pretty much _flirting_ lightly. Oh, how much Konan could just go on about how the slight flirting they did made it all the worse.

Not that she didn't like it! But considering that there _is_ a little age difference between them, it seemed a little awkward to the lone female Akatsuki member. ...But then again, the age difference isn't too bad. So why would that still be a problem?

These thoughts were all cut off; Konan shivered again and then set down her brush. One question floated through her mind:

_Why is Itachi on her mind so much lately?_

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Itachi shivered as he walked to the door of him and Kisame's room. He had just left because apparently from what Zetsu told him, he needed to report to the leader about something.

So as the Uchiha opened the door and stepped in; mentally cursing the coldness of the doorknob in the process, he entered to find an evilly grinning Kisame.

...What was that? Itachi already deals with a life of angst and slight tragic feelings from the season, and when Kisame's grinning evilly that usually up to something; and that only dampens Itachi's mood to the depressed point.

"Hey Itachi, you're finally back!" Kisame greeted.

Itachi glared and brushed past him; he _really_ didn't want to deal with him at the moment, as he was busy mentally counting up all the things he hated about the repeated season: Winter.

Kisame just scoffed.

"...ANYWAY, I wanted to discuss something with you. So, if that's fine, I'll just begin..." Kisame explained.

Itachi sighed and sat down on his bed; attempting to tune out from his partner's explaining. But it wasn't working. How was it so hard for the Mist swordsman to understand that the Uchiha was even more cold and distant in the Wintertime?

...Another sad reason of why he hated the season; because not even _Kisame_ understood. ...And he never would.

"Okay look, remember about...thirty minutes ago when we were all out in the snow and...you and Konan were about to do it in the-" Kisame continued but he was cut off.

"_Don't_ bring that up." Itachi interrupted; his tone annoyed with a hint of mortification between the lines.

Kisame blinked.

"...For your information, we were not about to do that. And plus, I would not even _dream_ about doing that with her." Itachi said.

Kisame sighed and crossed his arms.

"_Whaaatver _you say...but it sure did LOOK like that." Kisame commented.

Itachi's eye twitched.

Before Kisame even knew it, Itachi had thrown a pillow at him at the speed of light. It was so fast that he didn't even see it.

'...Mood-swings...' Kisame thought as he rubbed his arm.

Itachi then sighed and lied down; watching the snow tragically fall outside in it's repeated cycle in the corner of his eye.

"Well, if it wasn't that, then how come you seemed so embarrassed when me and Hidan showed up?" Kisame asked.

Itachi glared.

"...I was _not_ embarrassed, Kisame."

Kisame rolled his eyes.

"Please! I see it clearly! Your _bright red face_ is all the proof I need..." Kisame declared.

Itachi resisted the urge to roll his eyes; it was true what he said though. He was kind of embarrassed back there and still was: which the blushing revealed.

"And you have been acting a little different since last night, Itachi. I've noticed that. Could this be because of your little talk with Konan?" Kisame asked.

Itachi sat up and glared.

"How do you know I talked with Konan?" Itachi asked.

Kisame smirked.

"...Deidara." Kisame explained; that one name was enough to convince Itachi.

"...Of course..."

Kisame then glanced at the falling snow through the window; it was becoming dark outside and the snow glittered against the window. But it wasn't enough to dazzle Itachi or Konan. Kisame was slightly impressed by the scenery though.

"Itachi..." Kisame muttered as he put his hand over his face. Itachi blinked and stared at him. "...I see just what's goin' on. You and Konan are somehow...bonding from the season. And somewhere along the way: you're developing a crush-" Kisame continued but got cut off.

The Mist Swordsman was cut off by another pillow thrown at him; this time it hit harder.

"Shut up." Itachi said. He then lied back down and grabbed another pillow burying his face in it.

Kisame smirked and held back a snicker.

"Either you're going to scream, or smother yourself. Itachi, stop denying the truth." Kisame said.  
"...Same, tas hust or flown, morely hot at fusion." (_Translation from muffled: Kisame, that's just your own, poorly thought out conclusion._)

Kisame sighed.

'He's denying it. Although I did not quite catch all that muffled talking, he probably denied what I said.' Kisame thought.

**~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~**

Konan hugged herself slightly as she walked into the kitchen. She was getting slightly hungry but didn't really want a big meal.

As she walked to the fridge, she mentally cursed Kakuzu for being such a cheapskate and not replacing the old heater. But then again, she probably was just extra cold from the season's impact on her.

...Yeah, it was definitely the latter. Although not having a heater was part of it. After all, it wasn't like anything would warm her up; not even standing on the sun-

"Konan? That you?"

Konan rose an eyebrow and turned around; finding Sasori (not inside Hiruko) standing there looking a little surprised and annoyed at the same time.

"...What do _you_ want?" Konan asked, rudely. There it was again! The season making her even more cold and bitter towards everybody.

Sasori furrowed his eyebrows together.

"I just came to get some water." Sasori replied; sounding impatient.

Konan looked confused. And Sasori noticed that; he sighed.

"...I need to wash the built up snow out of me." Sasori added.

Konan nodded and sidestepped; allowing Sasori to open the refrigerator and get some water.

Then the blue-haired woman got something out of the fridge for herself; leftover sushi. She got that and walked over to the bar; leaning over it and eating the sushi.

Sasori however, didn't walk away. He watched Konan for a few seconds as she ate. And she appeared to be absentmindedly twirling her chopsticks the entire time.

Now normally, the former Sand ninja would've left her there. He wouldn't really pay any attention to her odd state without a second thought. But something really was up; he was going to find out what.

"Hey eh...what's wrong?" Sasori asked.

Konan blinked and looked up from her food that was barely touched.

"Huh?" Konan mumbled. 'Did Sasori just _ask what's wrong_? Maybe I am coming far in my desire to get some attention.' Konan thought.

Sasori walked over to the bar and leaned against it; looking her right in the eyes.

Dark eyes met amber eyes.

"...What's wrong? You seem a little...absentminded. Something on your mind?" Sasori asked.

Konan closed her eyes.

"Uh...not really. It's none of your concern." Konan replied.

Sasori rolled his eyes.

"I doubt that. Seriously though, if there is something on your mind it never hurts to just..._talk_ about it. But then you have to choose the right person to talk to." Sasori said.

Konan sighed and opened her eyes and set down her chopsticks; Sasori's won.

"...Alright. I'll...I'll talk." Konan muttered.

Sasori then glanced away as he leaned over the bar.

"Is this about you and Itachi's little 'Awkward Moment'? Pretty much _everybody _in the base knows about that from Hidan." Sasori asked.

Konan blushed slightly and scratched her cheek.

"Well...I-I guess. But...I don't feel like talking about that." Konan replied.

Sasori sighed and then attached some chakra strings to the plate of sushi. He then slid it away and broke the strings as Konan rested her head on the table.

"...Yeah, I heard you both were pretty embarrassed after that. At least...that is what HIDAN said." Sasori explained; looking away.

Konan said something, but it was muffled.

Sasori sighed and extended his arm; grabbing her chin and pulling It up.

"...But...I don't really see why. Why are you?" Sasori asked.

Konan furrowed her eyebrows together and glared at him.

"I don't know, okay? Things have just been...dramatically different since last night when I talked with Itachi about how cold and bitter I feel during this time of year..." Konan replied. She then sighed. "And he said that he felt the same way." Konan added.

Sasori thought for a minute and then looked over at the jug of water he set on the bar; a smirk making it's way onto his face.

"Could it be that...you're falling for him, Konan?" Sasori asked.

Konan's eyes widened, her face now burning with embarrassment. Was Sasori right?

"...What makes you say that?" Konan asked.

Sasori crossed his arms as he leaned over the bar.

"Come on, it is very obvious. Heck, I bet even _Tobi_ notices that! And also, it's written _all over_ your face..." Sasori pointed out.

Konan continued to glare. But she did think about whether Sasori was right or not. He could have been...but probably not.

Maybe she's falling for Itachi due to their hatred of the lonely season? Maybe that's why she's felt dramatically different just overnight? Is this why she's been inwardly freaking out when the thought of what happened earlier outside?

...But it might not be.

Just because they both dislike the season's bitter feeling, it's cold snow, it's lonely and deserted appearance, and all of it, that doesn't mean that they could _possibly_ like each other. It could only mean that their _bonding_ in a friendship way...

It is the latter that Konan is _trying_ to believe.

"Will you stop? ...I am not falling for Itachi, and wherever you got that _conclusion_ from, take it back." Konan denied flat.

Sasori looked annoyed.

"You're just denying it."

"I am not denying anything."

"Yeah, look at yourself. You so are denying it all, Konan."

"Shut up and go drench your wooden body with that water, Sasori!"

"Heh...not until I hear the truth."

"WHAT I SAID IS THE TRUTH, DAMN IT!"

"..."

"..."

Sasori sighed and Konan ran her fingers through her hair. They were both glaring at each other the whole time.

"Fine then. Continue to deny it all, Konan..." Sasori said as he grabbed the jug of water and walked off.

Konan huffed as soon as he was out of view. She didn't need him to tell her who she liked. And after all, she couldn't like anybody with her cold and frozen heart.

...As Konan went back to eating her sushi, her mind was all thinking about what the puppet master said.

Is it really true that she's possibly falling for one of the most cold and angsty members of the Akatsuki she knows?

...In her denying words: never.

But that is far from accurate in her case...

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"Itachi, accept the fact that 'ya got a crush on Konan!"

"Kisame, just shut up."

"Not until I hear the truth!"

"...You already have: I do not feel that way."

"Pssssh! EVERYBODY'S got feelings! I know you do, Itachi, although you never show it."

"...I don't recall ever having those, Kisame. And even if I ever did, I do not need them and _nobody_ does."

"Itachi!"

"Kisame."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Why are you activating your sharingan at me?"

Itachi stared threateningly at Kisame with his sharingan activated and Kisame just sighed.

'...He's SO denying it all. STILL. Why won't he just accept it that he's got a crush on Konan?' Kisame thought.

Itachi's thoughts were now all around what Kisame said.

Is it really true that he's developing a crush on a very distant member of the Akatsuki next to him?

In his denying words: That is completely false.

But that's far from accurate in his case...

**~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~**

**Meanwhile In Deidara And Tobi's Room...**

"Heh heh...wait until my super-awesome plan to blackmail Itachi falls into place..."

Suddenly, some spooky music played (from an Ipod to be accurate) and this same voice started laughing manically.

"IT WILL BE EPIC! MWAHAHAHA!"

Suddenly, the lights turned on in the dark room and a familiar masked member entered the room.

"Senpai! Tobi found a shampoo bottle and-what are you doing?" Tobi shouted; cutting himself off in confusion when he looked at the scene before him:

Deidara was sitting on his knees on the floor. There was several clay models of people (himself, Pain, and Itachi) and some huge paper on the floor that looked like blueprints. Deidara was also staring at him in shock like a dear caught in the headlights.

Eventually, Deidara's shock faded away and he scowled.

"TOBI! YOU RUINED MY MOMENT, YEAH!"

"...What are you doing?"

"THAT DOESN'T CONCERN YOU, YEAH! LEAVE SO I CAN CONTINUE PLOTTING, OR I'LL EXPLODE YOU!"

Tobi's eyes widened under his mask. He then nodded and shakily opened the door and ran out; slamming the door behind him.

Deidara continued scowling but eventually sighed. He was caught red-handed; now Tobi's onto his plan.

...Weird much?

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Well, Winter is a very lonely and bitter season. And it always comes in an endless repeated cycle; never stopping.

Pretty much like life in a way. Nobody can break it and must suffer through: like Konan and Itachi.

...However, the season's angsty feeling doesn't always take a large toll. When you've found someone who understands your hatred of the deserted, repeative season, it kind of brightens everything...

And even amazes: like how amazing new feelings arise in such a fast time.

_End._

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Okay, there's the third chapter! I'm sorry for it though, I couldn't think of a THING! -_- And oh, THEN I didn't get any time to sit around and get inspiration; visiting relatives...which meant no computer; my laptop I forgot to bring. T_T

Well, when I returned, my friend Mandy called; still sick but feeling better BTW! ^_- And she filled me in on her boring time in bed with her cold. Then we talked about the latest Bleach video game...and then we started fangirling over Ichigo...that led to discussion over how would win in fistfight: Gin vs Ichigo...and then we went all anti-Sasuke Uchiha and cleverly compared him to various DBZ characters...shortly after, we started cooing over Kyo from Fruits Basket...and then...

Blah blah..!

THEN, my 13 year old little brother passed by my room just as I lied down; he said he got one of my Naruto subbed DVDs stuck in his portable DVD player! Eventually, we got the DVD out...in CRUSHED PIECES! T.T And it had thirteen episodes on it...all around the Chuunin Exams Arc...

Later, same little bro mentioned that I left my laundry in the dryer. I had to go get that. And when I returned back to my room...I found him reading stories in my laptop's documents. (It was a draft to the next chapter of 'The Sand Sibs Go On A Road Trip'.) ...He criticized it as always. And he ranted about how Yumi isn't even a Naruto character. -_-' He doesn't understand about OC's yet and I had to GENTLY explain it ALL...

In a nutshell, this ALL happened a few days ago. Thank God I was able to write this! -.-

Well, I'll update whenever this foul writer's block is DESTROYED. Please...please bear with me. -_- BTW, writer's block is PURE EVIL! :(

_Read and review~! ^_~_


	4. Accepting The Revealing Moments

Author's Note: Kay...SLOW update. -_- Sorry...to anybody who reads it. **IF** there is.

This chapter doesn't really get the characters anywhere, but it does count as one of Itachi and Konan's "moments".

Well, that's enough rambling. Let's start the chapter: sorry for the OOC moments if there are anyway. -_- ...I just wanted to say that.

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_Eternal Cold And Frozen Souls:_

_Chapter Four..._

…

…

_..._

The seasons come and then they go. Usually, people accept that and they go on and on with life.

All the seasons repeat forever; they come and go, come and go forever.

And when Winter comes; many don't mind. They don't get an angsty feeling, or sulk in the corner. They go out and _embrace_ the season.

But _two_ members of the Akatsuki: Konan and Itachi Uchiha _despise_ the season. To them, nothing about it is good about it.

They don't understand it's lonely appeal, they don't see through it all the way; they just see a cold and bitter season.

But Konan is attempting to change it all. She's always been one of the coldest and angsty members ever since she's been in there. Only acknowledging Pain; she wants to break that and acknowledge some other people.

Weirdly, ever since two nights ago, she's been feeling different and seeing things the other way around.

. . . .Ever since she talked briefly with Itachi. Now she wants to break that _wall_ that separates her from everybody and everything.

"...It still is so cold in here. Damn Kakuzu, not replacing that heater..." Konan hissed under her breath as she walked to her room.

As Konan walked into her room, she sighed in dismay immediately. Why was she even going in there? It wasn't like it was any warmer then in any other part of the base.

But she lied on her bed anyway and stared at the ceiling. She did have a lot on her mind she needed to settle.

Mostly all of it revolving around a certain _Uchiha_ in the base; Itachi. She really has been avoiding him and pretty much everyone since two days ago when she talked with Sasori.

Sasori mentioned that she could possibly be _falling_ for him. But that's just impossible! She couldn't!

"(_Sasori couldn't have possibly been serious. I can't really...or could I? N-no...that's just impossible..._)"

Konan furrowed her eyebrows together and stared up at the ceiling. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.

Konan can't really accept what Sasori said. And she believes he was teasing her; after all, what does _he_ know about falling for somebody? He probably never actually liked a girl before...

"(_This just so confusing! Itachi...he's not exactly the type of guy who I should even like. He's really cold and...all..._)" Konan thought; her cheeks now slightly pink.

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Itachi rolled his eyes as Kisame continued rambling about him '_having a crush_' on Konan. He really wished he would just zip it; he knew he didn't like Konan. There's so way _he_ could have a crush on her!

Kisame's been rambling about that for two days straight, whenever he felt like it; which was almost always.

Maybe he was trying to annoy Itachi? Or maybe...maybe he's forcing the fact that Itachi likes Konan on him so it'll actually become like that?

"...Seriously though, I don't understand your problem! You and Konan are..._almost_ the same; you both probably understand each other more then anybody else in the base-no the entire _Great Shinobi Lands_!"

Itachi gave Kisame a glare as he went on and on. Seriously, was this whole thing that interesting to ramble about forever?

As the snow fell outside, Itachi bitterly watched it a he stood there in front of the window. He really didn't want to be reminded that it was Winter but...

"I understand you don't wanna accept you have emotions like regular people; but you're gonna have to soon before it's too late. If you don't accept it now and keep denying it, you'll only-"

"Kisame..."

Kisame stopped talking and looked over at Itachi. The shark-man was in the middle of reading a book as he talked.

"...What's so _interesting_ about this whole thing? And just what makes you assume I even have _feelings_?" Itachi asked; no tone whatsoever with those words.

Kisame smirked.

"Because. We've been partners for a long time; I know you and I know you _do_ have feelings somewhere! Also, I know you like Konan." Kisame replied knowingly.

That didn't stop Itachi from glaring at him again.

Kisame sighed when he felt the death glare on him.

"...Kisame, I do not have any feelings for her." Itachi protested.

Kisame mumbled some sarcastic comment and turned the page of his book.

Itachi sighed and turned to look back at the _despised_ snow.

"(_...I know I do not like her. Or...do I? What-of course not. I shouldn't waste my time with weak things like emotions and feelings...they only interfere with life. Shinobi do not need them._)" Itachi thought.

Itachi then blinked and walked away from the window. He grabbed his cloak that was hanging on a rack and walked over to the door. Just as his hand touched the _hated, frozen _doorknob Kisame looked up from his book.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"...To clear something up."

"Whatever-wait...huh?"

"..."

Itachi then left the room before Kisame could get a reply. Kisame stared at the door fore several seconds in confusion.

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Itachi wordlessly walked through the halls of the base. Just as the bitter snow outside fell without a sound.

He was going to clear it all up: he did _not_ have feelings for the blue-haired woman like Kisame kept on coaxing. And after this, it would all be settled; he was going to make sure.

Inwardly cursing the weak falls allowing the chilled air in, Itachi continued to walk through the halls. He sensed Konan's chakra in her room so he went straight for it.

The Uchiha arrived at the door, but stopped immediately as he walked up to it. He heard the woman's voice from the inside.

"This is just ridiculous. There is no way this is even possible..."

Itachi blankly stared at the door after hearing those words; Konan's voice. He then curiously leaned against the door; pressing his ear against it to hear better.

...Because what many do not know, is that Uchiha's are _very _nosy and are quite good at eavesdropping.

"...And even if I was falling for him...he'd never feel the same. Damn Sasori, screwing up my mind!"

Itachi blinked; not catching on. And that was really saying something, because he was _very_ quick to pick up on things.

Maybe the awful effects of the season was messing with him. Maybe Kisame's knowing talk about him liking Konan was messing with him. Either way, it was strange.

. . . .The weirdest thing, was the fact that Itachi was hoping deep down that she was referring to _him_.

Itachi furrowed his eyebrows together and shook his head. What was he doing? Being a desperate love-sick teenager? That is _not_ right at all! He's over a little over twenty after all...

"_Itachi_ is one of the coldest and distant members...he'd never actually feel _that way_," Itachi perked up slightly at sound of his name. "And how could he anyway? He is just as unfeeling as me..."

"(_Why is she talking about me? What is this odd feeling? No way..._)" Itachi thought.

There was a brief sigh heard on the other side, then Konan continued talking in a low voice.

". . . .I cannot let myself to fall through like this...give in to Sasori's _taunts_ about me falling for the _Uchiha_." The sound of getting up off of a bed was then heard; clashing with the loud wind outside. "...Itachi still...is kind of attractive though. Maybe that's what's pulling me in? It could be those mysteriously _sexy_ onyx eyes..."

Itachi blinked as he heard those last words. A slight dark red blush now across his face. He stealthily slipped away from the door and wordlessly walked away.

The minute he was almost fully away, Konan opened the door and stepped out of the room. She blinked repeatedly and glanced around as she stepped out.

She could have sworn she sensed Itachi's presence behind the door as she was talking to herself. That was why she talked lower so he could not hear.

"..._Itachi_..."

Konan crossed her arms and smirked very briefly.

"...It's all in my head."

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_Winter_.

The season is very repeative. And it's hard to accept for some people: Konan and Itachi.

But _sometimes_, little revealing moments are acceptable...it's what actually brightens the mood.

Revealing moments however, sometimes aren't acceptable; well...depending one each of the angsty shinobi's point of view it is.

_End._

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….*Awkward silence*

Um...well? :\ How was it?

Sorry if it wasn't the best; I got school and all coming. -_-

Hopefully, this could fic will get more readers eventually. Let's see what happens until then. ;)

Next update? Sometime next week. -_-' I don't have much time to write the next chapter for EVERY DAY of the week! I might update by...either next Wednesday or Friday. :)

**Read and review! ^^** **...Please? *Smiles hopefully***


	5. It's When You Lose Yourself

Author's Note: Um...slow update. -_-' I doubt this fic gets much readers. But I'm not throwing in the towel just yet! *Literally clings to a towel*

This chapter is probably pretty short...and probably won't get anybody anywhere...but hey, at least there's a little bit of ItaKon (-My own version of the pairings name. ;]-)!

Now then, there's probably some OOC moments. If there is; no need to rant, fuss, or hunt me down and kill me! :O

Oh, and I changed the title. Sorry if there's confusion. -.-' From now on, it will be called "Romance In The Snow" as opposed to the saying: 'Love in the air'. And it will be referred to as such when the title is written...

..._**Let's just begin the chapter. 5-4-3-2-1~**_

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_Romance In The Snow:_

_Chapter Five..._

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…

…

_**Winter.**_

Winter is known to be the coldest season and not exactly the most happiest...with it's lonely appeal and it's freezing snow, it almost seems to be a very sad season.

Everywhere one looks, there's snow right there. It builds up, and freezes you.

However it isn't all bad, because that means family and friends could get together and enjoy the company. Maybe reminisce and chat.

...However if these souls happen to be like two different shinobi who happen to still be the same: Konan and Itachi Uchiha, things are way different.

Just as the falling snow hits the ground, just as the sharp wind blows, and just as the cycle repeats; the hatred of the season expands dramatically.

But the season can take one over; making you much more bolder and blunt. You do something that you never wanted to? It can; the hatred boils and you're easy to fall to the control of the season's appeal.

...It's all about when you lose yourself to an unknown force...

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Itachi had recently went to Konan's room in the base to sort out everything. What was he going to sort out? The fact that Kisame has been teasing him endlessly over the fact that he possibly likes her. But he...he just can't bring himself to believe what the shark-man said was true. He can't.

But he lost his nerve once he made it to the door. Although he didn't want to admit to himself that he lost it; Uchiha _never_ lose their nerve and cower down. They stay strong and go through with it.

He lost it all...once he heard Konan talking to herself; mentioning how Sasori was taunting her about falling for _him_. HIM: Itachi Uchiha.

She mentioned how there was no way that was possible. Somehow...somewhere deep down within the Uchiha's frozen heart; was disappointment. He just didn't understand why he would be.

After all, he _didn't_ like Konan; she was a mere fellow member of the group. Nothing beyond that to him. And even if he did like her as a _friend_, it wouldn't possibly go over that line.

But what really got to him, was when Konan described him. Saying he was '_attractive_'...she said his eyes where...'_sexy_'. His eyes? Those eyes he felt diminishing everyday?

...No this isn't possible. Itachi Uchiha can. Not. be. Falling. For. Someone. It's just unthinkable!

What's worse, is if _Deidara_ found about this; he'd have a literal _blast _having some more "blackmail" on him. ...Which is exactly why Itachi never talks to the blond much!|

Itachi's musing over all this was abruptly cut off; he stopped walking as he reached the hall.

"...What am I doing?"

Itachi turned back around and looked across the freezing hall. Staring blankly. Just as blank as the snowy landscape outside.

"I cannot just cower down. I need to settle this..."

Itachi then made up his mind: he would walk to Konan and tell her about this crazy thing with Kisame coaxing that he likes her, and the fact that he is in fact, _not_ interested in her.

Shivering slightly from the freezing winds, Itachi silently walked back to Konan's room. However, just as he arrived half to his destination; Deidara walked by...and he was carrying a video camera while laughing manically in a whisper.

"Deidara, what _are_ you doing?" Itachi inquired; he knew he would regret that later.

Deidara stopped walking and then smirked knowingly as he leaned against the wall. His camera gleamed in the dim light of the base.

"Oh, just plotting some epic blackmail, yeah." Deidara replied; attempting to act nonchalant but failing. "...It will be so epic...like a _bang_!"

Itachi just stared blankly at the blond. He then shook his head and walked off; Deidara meanwhile glared as he turned back around to him.

"That's what you'll do when you see my epic blackmail, yeah! Watch out!"

Itachi rolled his eyes and walked up to Konan's door. This time, he would go through with it. And he would get everything settled like it should be.

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Deidara scowled as Itachi walked up to the door. He didn't even acknowledge is awesome speech! That's just terrible in his book.

But Deidara wouldn't allow that to get him down; he knew that his plan to blackmail that cold Uchiha was flawless.

"Well, I can't stay mad long, yeah." Deidara said to himself as he smirked. "Because I have some really epic blackmail to collect...and is he going into _Konan's room_? Oh, this could be something interesting, yeah!"

Deidara then snickered as he stealthily walked away. He was going to stay back and wait for Itachi to go in there. Then sneak inside and get some more 'epic' blackmail...

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Itachi walked up to Konan's door and knocked on it quickly and lightly; it was cold and frozen solid.

...Just like his heart.

"(_Is she even here? I sense her chakra..._)"

Itachi steadily raised his hand and once again knocked on the blue-haired woman's door; this time a little bit louder.

He knew she heard him. Because there was a shuffling sound and light footsteps.

"Yes...Itachi?"

Itachi then looked at the woman standing in the open doorway; cloak removed and wearing the clothes underneath. He was amazed that she wasn't frozen solid. There was something about her all of a sudden...and those curious amber eyes...

"...Hello?"

Konan furrowed her eyebrows together as they words came from her mouth. Why wasn't Itachi responding? It really was the least he could do.

"Konan...I need to talk to you; this is important." Itachi said.

Konan blinked. Blushing very slightly, she glanced away and then sighed.

"Is it...that important? If it's something like that then maybe Nagato-"

"No. It's not something like that. Can I come in?"

Konan nodded and walked back into the room. Itachi followed her suit and closed the door behind them.

When they got in, Konan sat down on her bed while Itachi stood by the door. Both were absentmindedly glancing around; unsure of how to break the silence that overcame them. The window's curtains weren't fully covering and the snow falling outside was visible; adding to their angsty feeling.

"...Konan, I heard what you said to yourself earlier."

Konan looked over at Itachi and crossed her arms.

"I know you where. I sensed you. Why were you listening, anyway?"

Itachi glanced away; heat slowly rising to his cheeks as the seconds passed by.

"...It's stupid."

Konan glared and scooted over some closer.

"I doubt that. Just tell me why."

Itachi sighed.

"...I don't know why I did. Something strange overcame me. An odd feeling; a certain feeling that Kisame is convinced I feel about _you_." Itachi hesitantly replied.

Konan was now really curious. She blushed slightly and leaned over a little more to the side.

"What...? I'm sorry, but I don't-"

Itachi's annoyed sigh cut her off. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Kisame strongly believes that I...have a _crush_ on you." Itachi said. He then blushed again and looked away while adding: "...But I don't think it's that _far_...he always does make wild conclusions..."

Konan looked thoughtful for a moment and then sat back up. She rubbed the back of her neck and stared at the window; at the hated season outside.

"Well we're in the same boat, Sasori is positive that _I_ have _romantic feelings_ for _you_." Konan mentioned. She then glanced over at Itachi and added while blushing: "...But you know how he is and all..."

Silence once again overcame the two. Neither really wanted to speak up; fearing that something could go wrong. The current moment _was_ awkward already. Konan sat there on the bed; staring at the floor with her hands beside her. And Itachi stood there against the wall; arms crossed and his face kind of red-ish.

Finally several seconds passed, Konan boldly spoke up.

"That is really unlikely, isn't it?" Konan asked.

Itachi looked back at her and nodded.

"Oh yes, it is...very unlikely. We could never possibly have those kinds of feelings for each other; they would only get in the way since we are shinobi..."

Konan gave a forced, small smirk that he didn't notice. And nodded as she looked him right in the eyes.

"That is very true. I mean, no one can fall for somebody in such a short time. ...It only happens in fairy tails..." Konan mentioned; feeling slightly disappointed.

Itachi did agree...slightly. Still somewhere, he felt something. Konan did as well.

"Yes...we cannot let feelings like that take over. They only lead to no end...besides, I couldn't like you anyway in that sense if I _did_: _it wouldn't work_..." Konan replied; her tone getting more and more lower to almost a whisper.

Itachi remained stoic looking. But those last three words..._affected him inside_. He couldn't explain how. And then suddenly...another odd feeling overcame him and he took a step forward.

"You are right." Itachi said. "However, if I _did_ like you; I'd know..."

Konan blinked as Itachi walked closer...and _closer_. Now right by her bed; he grabbed her wrists and stared straight into her eyes; she looked up and stared into his eyes as well; her face burning from the sudden action as lifeless onyx eyes met sad amber eyes.

"H-how so?" Konan asked; stuttering slightly in surprise.

"I would know, because first of all: this feeling I have felt would be strong; passionate like it is _now_."

Konan shivered as he traced over her hands; but she didn't back away. She still sat there. He looked into her eyes once again and then _licked_ his_ lips_. Konan blushed more at that; imagining how they'd feel against her own.

"...Th-then what?" Konan asked; she had never been so surprised before like this.

"Then I would do this..."

Itachi suddenly brought Konan up to her feet; she couldn't help but follow because he had an iron grip on her.

"How would you c-continue?" Konan asked as she backed up closer to the wall, away.

Itachi just walked closer to her. He eventually cornered her up by the wall; she squeaked briefly as he got right up against her. They're faces mere inches away. The weird thing was, she could see the feeling in his eyes.

Somehow, she knew what he was about to do. But she didn't mind at all.

"At long last, I would finish this way..."

Itachi then stared at her and placed one arm against the wall, the other tracing around Konan's neck. Finally, he leaned in about to kiss her...and she did the same. Their heartbeats rapidly thumping by that time.

And just as their lips almost touched...

"OH KAMI!"

Itachi and Konan's eyes snapped open and they looked over at the door: there was Deidara and Kisame standing in the open doorway. Deidara's eyes were wide and he was barely holding onto his video camera, and Kisame wore a knowing grin.

Konan and Itachi were just as shocked as they were; both were staring wide-eyed at them while their blushes _shot past_ red and went extreme: _purple_.

"Now that's something you don't see everyday...WONDERFUL BLACKMAIL, YEAH!"

Deidara hurriedly whipped out regular camera and took a picture. He then dashed out of the room as if the base was on fire.

"...Itachi's lost himself..." Kisame commented.

Itachi and Konan both gave him death-glares then. But Konan spoke up.

"You're wrong. Itachi's lost himself to..._Winter_." Konan corrected.

Kisame tilted his head slightly and stared at her in confusion.

"Huh...?"

Konan shook her head as she closed her eyes. She then glanced over at Itachi and walked back out the door.

"You will never understand,_ Kisame_." Konan replied as she left.

That left Itachi and Kisame in there. Itachi walked over to him and glared at him again.

"She's right."

Itachi then walked out of the room. And Kisame stood there in complete confusion; but at least he proved himself right! Even getting Deidara's help in the process...

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Like said before, these two hate Winter and know it. The _angsty feelings_ boil over until the end.

But sometimes, Winter takes over and can possess them. It did to Itachi; making him give in to the feelings.

It's unknown if they like each other; one thing is for sure through, there's a big chance of either.

It's just all in the hatred of the season.

When you lose _yourself_...

_End._

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...Yeah, I don't actually know. This part really went it's own way. -_-' Oh well, at least it's done finally. This part wouldn't have even been possible, without my friend Mandy. ^^ She gave me ideas for it. And of course, at least two out ten were great...the others? I'm not sure. :(

...Thank you, my friend. :)

Well, I'm not sure when the next update will be. Probably...next week around this time. Sorry for long updates, but I want there to be enough time to get readers...and reviewers. If there's flamers...*grabs a fire extinguisher from nearby* I'm _READY_. ;D

**Read and review~ It's not hard...;)**


	6. Can't Get You Off My Mind

**Author's Note: Well...here's the next one! And as usual, we get nowhere at all! WOO! *Smiles and then frowns epically as I glance away* Wait...that isn't something to cheer about. -.-'**

**Anyway, I hope this one's okay. I was in the middle of reading some Vampire Knight manga when the idea came to me! O.O**

**Oh, and there's probably OOC moments. *Grabs the fire extinguisher I previously was armed with when the last chapter ended* Watch those flames! ;P**

**Also BTW, in a review: somebody corrected me on how I've been capitalizing winter when not needed.**

**Here's the response to that: I know that. ^_^ I did that on purpose; y'know, to see if any writers/readers on this site even payed attention to proper writing anymore! ...Come on, we ALL know that a lot don't give a damn about proper writing! :[**

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_Romance In The Snow:_

_Chapter Six..._

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_**Wintertime.**_

The most loneliest and most interesting season. Whether or not one wants it to happen it will happen eventually.

Freezing winds, longer nights, and snow. Well, the list goes on and on.

Though many don't mind the season; Itachi Uchiha and Konan don't. They are two different; yet _similar_ members of the Akatsuki. And winter happens to be their hated season:

For it makes _nostalgia _overcome them. And thinking about the past, isn't something they want to do. Moving on from the past through, _IS_ something they want to do badly.

Not only that, but Konan wants some acceptance and Itachi just...wants everything to be right.

Between this, they have noticed something coming between them. In only...four days.

During this time, Itachi and Konan tried to avoid each other all together. But even when that happened, they still found their thoughts drifting over towards the other person.

They didn't understand it. And they tried to convince themselves at this wasn't really anything like _that_. But somehow...it failed.

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"(_Don't think about him...don't do this..._)"

Konan furrowed her eyebrows together as she leaned against Pain's desk and rubbed over her forhead. She was seriously agitated over the fact that Itachi kept drifting through her _thoughts_.

The paper mistress was supposed to be in Pain's office reporting about something. But now that the Uchiha has entered her every thought, this was now impossible.

Pain noticed her and his expression softened slightly. Moving the papers out of the way, he looked over at her.

"Is something wrong, Konan?"

Konan opened her eyes and sighed.

"It's...it's nothing. I feel a little tired; I'm going to go to my room and relax."

Pain shook his head as she said that; he knew she was just lying. Being around her so long, he knew when she was telling the truth or not.

"Konan..."

Pain cut himself off as Konan glared right into his eyes. She rolled up her sleeve and ripped off some paper and threateningly started making into something.

"Okay...well go 'relax'. I guess the mission can wait; or I could always send Zetsu..."

Konan sighed and dropped the paper on his desk. She nodded and then strolled out of the room without a word.

Pain meanwhile, glanced at the paper and warily touched it.

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"I'm not going to do that, yeah!"

"Just do it!"

"Why? She won't listen to me, yeah! Besides, I'm extremely busy!"

"You're just planning some stupid blackmail, Deidara."

"..."

Kisame stared at Deidara waiting for him to reply. They were both outside Konan's room where she just entered.

Since the day before, Kisame realized he _was_ right about Itachi and Konan. But the problem was, they didn't believe there was anything between them; the shark-man knew better.

...Now he needed somebody to help make them understand their feelings; he chose Deidara since he knew that the artist had _way_ too much time on his hands if he could 'sneak' around for four days straight and plan 'blackmail' for Itachi.

"You know about that, yeah?" Deidara asked while blinking. Kisame nodded and he scowled. "I can't believe I was that _obvious_, yeah..."

Kisame sighed and placed his hand over his face.

"Just do this: have a..._heart-to-heart chat _with her...or something." Kisame explained.

Deidara scowled at him when he realized where he was going with that.

"HOW AM _I_ SUPPOSED TO HAVE A 'HEART-TO-HEART' CHAT WITH HER? I BARELY KNOW HER, YEAH! JUST GET LEADER TO DO THAT!"

Kisame sighed again and pointed towards the door; gritting his shark teeth in the process.

"Just do it."

Deidara was still really ticked off about that; he figured that Kisame chose him to talk with her because he looked like a woman himself. Rolling his eyes, Deidara walked over to the door and opened it; but he inwardly cursed both the cold door and his life.

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"(_What would I like about him anyway? I mean, maybe he's kind of attractive...but he's also stoic, emotionless, empty, hollow, heart-_)"

Konan's thoughts were interrupted as she heard knocking on her door; she rose an eyebrow as she did hear that. Because it wasn't everyday that somebody would knock on her door; usually it would be Pain.

...This wasn't Pain though. She didn't sense it; she sensed _Deidara_ was behind the door.

"(_What does that destructive terrorist WANT? I bet he's coming here to complain to me about Tobi, Itachi, Sasori, or the cold..._)"

Walking over to the door, she glanced over at the window and glared at the snow outside. Wishing it would end, wishing spring would just come already. However, that wouldn't be for a little while since winter just started four days ago.

Opening the door, Konan wasn't too surprised to see Deidara there. He appeared to be twitching slightly from her expressionless face and her gaze.

"Hey...Konan, yeah."

Konan stared at him.

"What are you doing here?" Konan asked in a cold tone.

Inwardly sighing, Konan briefly closed her eyes. She didn't want that to come out sounding cold; but it did. Which...only proved how much she hated that. She _wanted_ to open up; at least enjoy life...but that would never work.

"...I was wondering if we could talk, yeah." Deidara replied. Watching her blink in confusion, he quickly added: "It's important, yeah!"

"Then just talk to Naga-"

Konan was cut off with him sighing. He stared at her; obviously annoyed by that. He waved his hand dismissively then.

"No. _You_ are you one that should hear this, yeah." Deidara said.

Konan glanced down at the floor just as he said that. Several seconds passed and she looked up at him. Opening the door a little bit more, she gestured for him to come inside.

"Then come in. But you can't stay _long_."

Deidara almost smirked at that, but he stopped it. Nodding, he walked inside and closed the door behind him; after all, he wouldn't risk anybody else in the base hearing all the stuff he was about to say.

Several awkward seconds ticked by as Deidara and Konan stood there in the room. It was pretty awkward for the both of them: Konan barely even talked to Deidara in the past, and Deidara barely knew her since she acted so distant.

Mentally considering what to say, the both of them remained silent. Just as silent as the snow hitting the ground outside the base. Deidara stood by the door, and Konan sat in a chair right by him.

"(_Why can't I talk to him? Is it really this bad? . . .Maybe it is._)"

"(_Damn, it's hard to talk to her, yeah! She makes me feel so weird, yeah..._)"

"...Listen Konan, I came to talk about this whole thing with _Itachi_, yeah."

Konan blinked and looked over at Deidara; furrowing her eyebrows together, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared in disbelief.

"Since when do you want to talk about him?" Konan pointed out. "You never do. You despise him after all..."

Deidara shook his head and crossed his arms.

"That's true, yeah." Deidara replied. "But...I meant about this whole predicament with you and him, yeah."

Konan looked away from him, and apparently decided the floor looked more interesting as red dusted over her cheeks evidently.

"What predicament? There is nothing going on."

Deidara smirked and closed his eyes.

"Not from what I saw yesterday, yeah." Deidara mentioned. "Things looked pretty _hot_ between you, yeah."

"...Nothing was going to happen yesterday anyway." Konan replied; scowling as she stood up and walked over to Deidara. "He just caught me off guard because he lost himself to the season's effects."

Deidara furrowed his eyebrows together and stared at her in disbelief.

"What? That's stupid, yeah! There is no way someone can _lose themselves_ to the season!" Deidara shouted.

"They _can_! You just don't understand; none of you do!" Konan snapped.

Deidara stared at her in shock; she actually raised her voice. She never actually did that before to anybody from what he knew! Could the season _really_ do that? And does it have it's effect on _her_?

Konan sighed and walked over to her bed. She lightly sat down on the edge and stared at the floor.

"(_Damn you Kisame, yeah! You could have just did this yourself instead of cowering down and sending me, yeah!_)"

Deidara sighed and walked closer to the bed; grabbing Konan's chin lightly, he brought her head up to look him right in the eyes.

"I understand what you're going through, yeah. It's..._denial_."

Konan glared at him and pulled away.

"Deidara-"

"Listen: I know how you feel, yeah. I try to deny the fact that I can't _ever_ get back at Itachi; but..."

Konan rolled her eyes and stood up.

"Leave. Now."

Deidara saw the seriousness in her eyes and he sighed and walked towards the door. He didn't actually accomplish anything by this. But at least he could get back to his 'epic' blackmailing plan. He left the room and broke out into a sprint as he left.

Konan sighed as she saw that and she closed the door; a foot suddenly got in the way and blocked it. Blinking repeatedly she looked up and saw Itachi standing there in the doorway. She didn't even see him appear.

"...Itachi?" Konan asked. "Why are you-"

"Kisame locked me out of the room and told me to search for the key in _here_."

Konan's eyes widened and then she looked blank as she sighed deeply and touched her forehead.

"He needs to stop interfering with everything."

"I know."

Konan had a very small smirk on her face as she walked out of the room; Itachi stared at her blankly as she did. The blue-haired woman closed the door and then walked off a little distance down the hall.

"Come with me; Nagato can get you another key." Konan explained as she turned around while ripping some paper off her arm. "And if he doesn't...we'll get another key one way or _another_."

Itachi stood there for a minute and blankly watched her walk off; he noticed the sly look in her eyes as she did so. And the corners of his mouth twitched slightly and somehow formed a small smirk that he hid by following her through the dark halls and to Pain's office.

It may have took a few seconds, but he realized she was mildly _flirting_ with him; resulting in confusion...but also a little _amusement_.

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Falling for somebody in four days during a season that both of you despise...

Now that's odd; maybe it's odd, maybe it's weird, or maybe it doesn't matter. Winter does odd things...so how could something like this be so shocking?

When you mix interfering people, denying, and an angsty season...it kind of slows everything down.

But still, the hated snow might fall outside and the area may be bitter cold; but it's the little moments that become that silver lining in the dark clouds.

...But they never last. Much like the season.

_End._

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**Um...yeah, I not real happy with how this chapter turned out. -.-**

**I actually planned for Itachi to enter the picture sometime in the middle; but it appears my mind had other ideas once my fingers hit the keyboard. *Sighs***

**You know, I actually plan for this fic to have...at least 10 more chapters. I didn't actually intend for it to be too long. :[ I'm not sure if I really will end this after 10 more chapters. I do not know _yet_...**

**Sorry for the late update. T.T Time just got away from me!**

**Read and review! *Eyes turn starry***


	7. The Mysterious Kunoichi And Memories I

Author's Note: Ugh...late update; I know. Time really got away from me; and I am very busy.

Seriously, you really wouldn't want to be me right now. -.- There's so much for me to do and it seems there's so LITTLE time!

But enough of my complaining! There's a new chapter: the seventh! ;) Hopefully, it will satisfy you ItaKon fans out there...if not, well, it was the best I could do. :(

**Let the chapter begin~! ^.^**

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_Romance In The Snow:_

_Chapter Seven..._

**;**

**;**

**;**

Spring, summer, autumn, then _**winter**_.

That is the repeating cycle. It never ends; one season comes and then the next. Each season ends and the next comes anew.

Though it doesn't really matter to anybody. The only two souls in the universe who care are two different/_similar_ ninja: Konan and Itachi Uchiha.

They definitely despise the winter season. Why? The angst feeling and the way it makes them reflect on the past. Neither actually want to reflect or remember. Because looking back...they wish that the stuff that happened; _never_ should have happened.

And all the misfortune that came with it should have _never_ happened either.

There was something about winter that made them remember everything from their pasts. But they didn't want to remember. They wanted to forget everything.

...Though that wouldn't happen.

In actuality, Itachi had it a little bit worse then Konan when remembering.

So how could the past be let go of?

**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Yet another day of winter passed. Now the fifth day, it was amazing how the snow built up massively outside the Akatsuki base. It wasn't too bad yet, but still enough to get lost in if one tried to walk through it.

And because of this obstacle, Pain couldn't send out anyone for missions. Everybody was cooped up together at the base; it didn't help that Kakuzu _still_ refused to get a new heater and the walls were so weak; allowing the sharp winds through. Naturally, everyone couldn't have been more pissed off at the money-loving member.

This really slowed down everyone. But Konan and Itachi were practically in emo corners, sulking because of how nostalgia suddenly struck them.

Why was it that the deserted season affected them so badly? Honestly, neither of the two actually new themselves.

"This just sucks! Why the hell won't leader have us practically trapped HERE instead of out on missions!"

"Hidan, shut up."

"I CAN'T! And why the f are you staying so DAMN CALM?"

"Because unlike you, I can tolerate situations like this."

"OH F YOU, KAKUZU! I'M GOING TO _DO SOMETHING_ ABOUT THIS!"

"Good luck with _that_."

And after that exchange, Hidan glared at Kakuzu and jumped off the couch. He grabbed his scythe and menacingly twirled into the air before he ran to the door like a madman and out into the despised snow.

Kakuzu just rolled his eyes and went back to counting money. He could have stopped the ticked off Jashinist from foolishly running out into extremely piled up snow, but he chose not to. Besides, he really didn't care.

"Now why did you do that?" Zetsu's white half asked as he looked up from a book he was reading. "It would have been wise to warn him about the built up snow. **I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIS REACTION TO THE FREAKIN' COLD SNOW!**"

"Zetsu, shut up."

"**No. Why don't YOU, Zetsu?**"

"I can't."

"**Then I won't!**"

"You are so childish, Zetsu..."

"**Yeah? Well you're an annoying goody-**"

"SHUT UP, YEAH!"

Kazuku and Zetsu looked over at Deidara, who was looking pretty annoyed as he walked over to them.

"What's got you so angry, Deidara?" Zetsu's white half asked as the blond artist sat down on the couch.

"He's probably ticked off because he realized that 'epic' blackmail plan of his isn't working." Kakuzu pointed out.

Deidara gasped slightly when Kakuzu mentioned his plan. How did _he_ find out about his plan to blackmail Itachi? This wasn't good! Deidara glared in Kakuzu's direction and crossed his arms.

"Well it's not that, yeah." Deidara said. "I'm just very fed up with what's happening between Itachi and Konan, yeah!"

Kakuzu and Zetsu glanced at each other before looking back at Deidara.

"**...Huh? What IS happening between them?**" Zetsu's dark half asked.

Deidara then smirked evilly and waved his hand dismissively in the air. Zetsu could only stare in confusion at him.

"Come on, yeah! It's SO obvious what's up! They're head over heels, crazy about each other!" Deidara mentioned. "And Kisame and Sasori won't let me forget it, yeah. They keep getting _me_ to try and help get them together..."

Deidara then sighed in annoyance and leaned back. Kakuzu meanwhile, shrugged his shoulders.

"This seems like a waste of time. Those two...they wouldn't admit they loved each other in a million years..." Kakuzu mentioned.

"That's why Sasori and Kisame are screwed, yeah."

"**Why should WE even give a damn about those two's problem?**" Zetsu's dark half pointed out.

"Zetsu! How can you say that?"

"**Well it IS very true, Zetsu!**"

"No, Zetsu! You know, I think we should help them out. If Konan and Itachi really do like each other, they should be together. Even if the leader doesn't like it."

Deidara sighed again and snapped a finger after Zetsu's white half said that last part.

"That's just it: Leader probably wouldn't allow them to be together, yeah. 'Cause I got a feeling he likes Konan."

"I don't see why we're even talking about their personal lives." Kakuzu commented.

Deidara and Zetsu both rolled their eyes at that.

"OH JASHIN! IT'S F _FREEZING_ OUT THERE!"

Everybody looked over at the door to see Hidan shaking like a leaf and wiping snow off him as he slammed the door shut. Apparently, it was more worse outside then everyone thought.

"You had that coming." Zetsu's white half commented.

Kakuzu glanced over at Zetsu and shook his head in a "tsk tsk" kind of way. Hidan glared daggers at him while he did.

"He really did."

"I always thought that it would have been a lot more violent, yeah..."

"**Well I always thought-**"

"F YOU!"

Hidan then growled and left the living room. Kakuzu rolled his eyes and went back to counting money, Deidara sighed and started examining his fingers, and Zetsu went back to reading. But still, they were talking about Konan and Itachi's situation.

They knew something had to be done about it. Because just what would happen to the Akatsuki if this drama continued to take it's toll on everyone? In just five days, the drama was just overwhelming them. The three couldn't even imagine how Konan and Itachi felt, but they guessed it was way worse for them. Though, Deidara didn't once mention that he felt bad for Itachi; he just mentioned he 'felt' bad for Konan.

But what the terrorist, cheapskate, and plant man didn't know; was that Konan overheard it all. She was in the next room; the kitchen cleaning it. During the entire time she heard that, she felt her cheeks burn. Eventually, she set down the sponge and walked off.

**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;**

Meanwhile, Itachi was outside. He had to jump through him and Kisame's window because there was a _huge pile _of snow blocking many parts of the base. He was just a little distance away; leaning against a bare tree.

And though he hated being out there in it; seeing that despised snow and the deserted scene, he went out there to think.

It was snowing very hard; and it probably would turn into a blizzard eventually. But the Uchiha still stayed there; remembering the past against his will. Things he wanted to forget. Things that should never have even happened. And most of all: the one big thing he wished _never_ happened in the first place.

"(_I don't want to think about this. Why am I always doing this in winter? ...I hate this season so much..._)"

In Itachi's deep thinking, he wasn't aware of another presence sneaking up on him.

**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

A young woman about twenty years old smirked as she slowly crept up to Itachi. She was being careful though; from what she knew, he would easily detect her.

"So that's _him_? Interesting..."

The woman reached into the pouch on her hip and stuck three fingers into the holes of three shuriken before bringing it back up and twirling them absentmindedly.

"I have to time this out just right. Any wrong move..." The woman furrowed her eyebrows together and sighed. "...Any wrong move will definitely result in my _death_."

The woman had very long strawberry blond hair that was held back with a clip, dark green eyes, and kind of tall. She wore a netting shirt, a tight black tank top, brown fingerless gloves, very short dark green shorts, netting on her legs, and some black sandals.

"I'm shocked he hasn't even noticed me yet..."

The woman slowly crept closer; but her eyes widened as she stepped on a twig that was lying innocently over the snow. A snap was heard, and the next thing the kunoichi knew; there was a kunai at her throat.

"What are you doing, _spy_?"

The woman flinched slightly at that toneless voice; Itachi was behind her with the kunai ready to cut. She sighed and then a confident smirk made it's way onto her face.

"Nothing of _your_ concern."

A puff of smoke suddenly appeared and when it faded, the woman was gone and a split long fell to the snowy ground.

"(_Substitution...she's planning something._)"

Suddenly, the woman jumped down from the bare tree; ready to kick Itachi. Just as she got close, he jumped out of the way like it was child's play. Itachi landed perfectly and glared at the mysterious ninja.

He then examined her appearance and had confusion in his eyes when he saw the crossed out headband that was around her forehead: she was apparently from the..._Hidden Leaf_?"

From then on, a short fight begun. Itachi was able to dodge her attacks and send some hits to her; but none were major because her attack patterns where kind of unpredictable for the most part. He activated his Sharingan too, but didn't resort to the complicated levels of it. One thing was certain though: this ninja apparently from the Leaf, was a rogue ninja and a spy too.

...Probably out to get information. Even though he was pretty much in an emo mode because of the season, Itachi wasn't slowed down. He wouldn't let her get too far if she was a spy.

**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Konan was in her room meanwhile. She was absentmindedly making various origami shapes from paper as she thought about her past. Her past...the most part wasn't really something she wanted to remember. But at least there was a few people there. ...Not many though.

Her gaze flicked over to the window and she nearly crumbled the paper in her fist as she stared at the view. All she saw was: _built up snow_ covering the windows. Somehow, seeing that gave her an angst feeling. She couldn't really explain it though.

"(_That damned snow...why won't it just go away? It's taunts will not drag me in._)"

Suddenly, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, and Tobi slammed the door open and busted through. Konan wasn't fazed by the sudden scene, but she glanced over with little interest.

"Hey! Itachi's outside fighting a kunoichi who looks like a spy!" Kisame shouted.

That got Konan's attention. Her eyes widened and she looked over at the four.

"What?"  
"He is, yeah! And it doesn't look like the fight's going anywhere..."

"WHY are you shouting at ME then?" Konan asked as she stood up and grabbed both Sasori and Kisame's cloak collars.

"Because Zetsu is letting the leader know!" Tobi replied; shuffling away slightly from Konan.

Konan rubbed her temples after letting go of the former Sand and Mist nin.

"We have to do something! This ninja is probably a spy!" Konan shouted.

"Then let's go!" Sasori said as he pointed towards the door.

Konan nodded. And then the five all ran out the door and through the base. If Itachi encountered a spy, that would mean that he would need some help to stop the ninja. Konan was very worried at that point; she had faith that Itachi could beat the spy. But what if this spy could somehow stop _him_? What if he got injured? What if this kunoichi was very powerful?

All kinds of questions like that swirled through Konan's head as she and the four made it to the base's living room...

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

There are some things we want to remember and some things we want to forget. But one thing is for sure: Konan and Itachi have many things they want to forget.

But sometimes, remembering isn't all that bad. Sometimes, that will strengthen you...

_Continued._

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How's that for a switch? This is a two-part thing. ;)

Sorry for the lack of interaction between Konan and Itachi. -.-' They've interacted in pretty much every chapter so far. I didn't want to keep things repeative. Anyway don't worry, they will interact in the next part! :)

I'm sorry for the REALLY long wait! Time just flew right by! And I'm sorry for it's very short length as well!

The next update? I will try to next Friday! You can count on that; if not Saturday...

_**Read AND review. -^.^-**_


	8. The Mysterious Kunoichi And Memories II

Author's Note: _**Okay...kind of a late update. T_T I was so busy on Friday, and I had the time to write it on Saturday but...I kind of put it off. Sorry, but I'm just a procrastinator sometimes!**_

_**Maybe this chapter will be worth the wait? Because you're all probably wondering who the hell this kunoichi is. ;) She actually plays an important role that just might get Itachi and Konan together! But that's still a mystery for now.**_

_**In the meantime, enjoy the chapter. It was...the best I could do at this time. *Smiles forcefully***_

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_Romance In The Snow:_

_Chapter Eight_

_**;**_

_**Konan's POV:**_

I'm so shocked right now. I can't believe what's really going on; Itachi he's outside fighting a spy. Now normally, I wouldn't be affected at all by that. But ever since that night...I don't know what's going on anymore: I feel very strange around him, and everyone else are being annoying and acting like they're damn know-it-alls about what's happening! I want to just attack them with my origami kunai and shuriken I made two weeks ago...but that wouldn't solve anything.

Right now, me, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, and Tobi are dashing through the base to get to the exit. I sent some chakra to my feet so I could be extra fast; I wanted to hurry up and get out there to help him. Though I probably would be endangering myself if it's snowing out there.

"**Finally! They're here!**"

By hearing that cruel voice of Zetsu's dark side, I knew we were in the living room. I stopped running before I crashed into something or..._someone_. But Sasori, Kisame, Tobi, and Deidara all crashed into each other before stopping. I rolled my eyes at the scene and looked over at Zetsu and Negato.

"We're here, how...how's Itachi doing out there in the fight?" I asked; directing my question over to Zetsu.

My question kind of hung in the air for a few minutes. And then I heard Deidara mumble some kind of sarcastic comment to Kisame; to which I glared at him and inconspicuously kicked his shin. Though I really was aiming for another spot...

"We don't know. **But stop worrying, bitch!**"

"Let's just go out there and try to see the fight. Itachi probably can handle this ninja, but if something goes wrong we can't let her escape and get the information she probably here for." Pain pointed out.

"Well that will be kind of hard..." Sasori mentioned as he glanced over through the small window. "Because it looks like it's snowing pretty hard out there."

...Oh _great_. Even more snow? Why can't this damn season just speed up already? This season's really been the worst, I get so many angsty memories just thinking about it!

"Hey, why don't we just leave Itachi out there, yeah?" Deidara suggested. I rolled my eyes at that.

And once again, I kicked his shin; and he glared at me. I sighed and looked over at Pain. And I'm sure that I had a look of worry in my eyes because I notice the look in his eyes soften slightly.

Though I'm not sure anyone else noticed it like I did. Something felt odd, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Okay...let's go out there. Quickly!" Kisame suddenly said; he probably noticed the tension that soon overcame all of us.

With that said, we all pretty much ran out of the base. And the entire way, I felt my heart thumping rapidly. I don't know why, but I was so worried for that blank Uchiha...

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

We exited the base and were soon running through some thick snow. I couldn't believe how much there was; and it was so thick and freezing. Closing my eyes for a few seconds as I ran, I remembered back when I created that huge snowball fight...and how everyone actually fell into my trap. They all went along with it...but Itachi didn't. And blushing, I remembered how we ended up...together in the snow. The moment actually felt very right...and something just kind of clicked at that moment. If Kisame and Hidan hadn't ruined it when they did, I don't know what could have happened. Maybe we would have kissed...or Itachi could have been annoyed and activate his mangekyou Sharingan on me. But then again...he didn't actually look annoyed; and he was definitely caught _off_-guard for a change.

"There they are." Pain announced.

Me and the others stopped running along with Pain and we stared at the sight before us. We were a little distance away from the base; not by much though. And Itachi and this kunoichi were definitely in a battle.

I wanted to just come right and curse that damned snow that was falling pretty rapidly; I could _barely_ even see a thing through it! And by squinting to look over at the guys I noticed they couldn't see through it either.

And if all of _us_ couldn't see through this thick, falling snow...then Itachi probably had it a little _worse off_! By squinting through this blizzard-like snow, I noticed that Itachi couldn't hit this kunoichi with attacks much, but she couldn't either. I assumed that she couldn't see well either.

"Well...this really isn't good." Tobi commented. He glanced over at me and I glanced over at him. I tried to make eye contact, it's pretty impossible with the mask. "Is Itachi going to lose?"

Deidara just snorted and crossed his arms. I glared at him as he did that, and I wanted to pretty much punch him for that.

"Let's hope he does, yeah..."

Pain seemed to notice by anger at the blond terrorist, he glared at Deidara.

"Deidara!"

I was kind of glad that he stopped him before he went into some speech about how much he hated the Uchiha and all that. Then we all looked over at the scene. I could barely even see; but I noticed that the woman had strawberry blond hair and wore a Leaf headband that was crossed out.

...So she was obviously from the Leaf, huh? That's interesting.

For the next few minutes, Itachi and the Leaf kunoichi continued to fight. I could tell that it was an uneven fight; neither could see through the blizzard-like snow to even attack. We still watched from afar though. And I intended that at least until the fight was over because...for some reason, I want to back up Itachi and finish off this woman. I could easily; because I can attack from long range.

The cold, sharp wind hit me and my hair blew around in the wind; much like everyone else. But I also felt my skin start to crinkle...and then rip a tad because of the really strong wind. But I refused to move.

"Konan...your _skin_!" Zetsu's white half suddenly said in horror as he glanced at me. I sent a glare in his direction after that.

This got Pain's attention. He glanced over at me, and I saw worry in his eyes. I knew he was worried about me...but I wasn't about to leave and go back inside. There's no way I would leave Itachi...like this...

"Konan, maybe you should go back inside the base. You shouldn't be out here in this blizzard anyway!" Pain mentioned as he walked over towards me.

I glanced down at the snow-covered ground, and then back over at him. I knew he was right...but still, I wouldn't go back in. I had to...finally be of use for once, and also protect Itachi. I don't even know why I started thinking about protecting Itachi, but heat went to by face just thinking about that.

"No. I have to stay here!" I shouted back through the strong wind.

"Leader's right! You shouldn't be out here!" Sasori shouted to me through the wind.

"I don't care!" I shouted back again; this kind of took everyone by surprise.

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

Ten minutes have passed. And I was still standing there with them. We watched the fight from afar, I had my cloak sleeve rolled up the entire time so I could quickly get ready to fight if anything happened; but in return, that just nearly froze my arm off and caused my skin to crinkle and freeze up more.

Itachi and the kunoichi continued to fight. The fight was still uneven, and neither could see; I'm positive.

Finally, I heard Itachi call out the Fireball Jutsu. I'm sure that Pain and other others heard that as well. Suddenly, I saw huge fireballs flash and the mysterious woman struggle to dodge them all.

"AAAAAAAH! MY ARM!"

Me and everyone gasped slightly and squinted through the blizzard and flames to see that the kunoichi's left arm was very burnt. Apparently, Itachi was finally able to land a painful attack on her. I nearly sighed with relief when I saw Itachi standing over her as she fell over in pain from her burnt arm.

"Did he get her?" Tobi asked Kisame.

"I think so. After all, her arm's completely charred it looks like..." Kisame replied.

I nearly kicked Deidara's shin again when I saw him looking blank and mumbling: "Damn, I was betting she'd kill him, yeah..."

"I'm not through YET!"

We all looked back up as this kunoichi stood up and held her arm. She glared at Itachi; and he quickly took a step back in a fighting stance. The kunoichi smirked evilly and charged for a punch; though Itachi avoided it easily by dodging gracefully.

My eyes widened though as he dodged. I noticed that the kunoichi quickly made two clones that dashed over to Itachi and grabbed both his shoulders violently. He looked caught off guard as that happened, and a part of me wanted to slap that strawberry blond-haired bitch in the face! I was sure my heart was thumping rapidly in my chest as I watched the kunoichi charge at him for a very violent kick. And she did just that: she kicked him, _very hard_. Right in his chest.

And each of us had a different reaction as that happened: my eyes widened and I gasped before cringing, Pain's eyes widened slightly, Kisame's jaw dropped, Tobi nearly fell to the ground in shock, Sasori stared blankly, both halves of Zetsu whistled, and Deidara was just smirking.

I covered my mouth so I wouldn't pretty much scream at that point. Itachi's eyes widened and he coughed up a little blood before falling back roughly as the clones disappeared from the kunoichi's chakra being used up.

The kunoichi herself, didn't have time to enjoy her victory. Because the strawberry blond-haired bitch screamed in pain from her burnt arm and collapsed to the snowy ground; her chakra was apparently all used up. I could sense that.

"ITACHI!" I screamed suddenly as my eyes widened.

The guys all exchanged looks and glanced over at me; but I didn't give a damn about them at the moment. I knew one thing: that bitch was gonna _die_ when I got my hands on her...

I suddenly took off running towards that kunoichi. I didn't know why I suddenly felt so angry at that point. For some reason...for some reason I felt as mad as hell at that point; I just wanted to take her and beat her to a bloody pulp for what she did! I know I couldn't do that though; not with Pain and everyone else there to interfere.

"Konan!" Pain called out to me as he extended his arm.

I just ignored him. Normally I wouldn't have; he's my best friend. But I wasn't going to let this bitch get off easy with what she did. I clenched my hands into fists as I stopped running and started walking up to her. And she eyed me as I tore the crinkled paper from my arms and quickly made them into kunai.

"Konan! You won't be able to fight in this blizzard!" Pain called out to me. "Stop this!"

"I _don't_ care!" I shouted back; the blizzard getting even louder.

"What...what are you doing?" The kunoichi asked me; she sounded like she was going to stop breathing at any time. "I beat your _boyfriend_; the battle's over!"

I glared at her; though I couldn't help but flush slightly as she said the "boyfriend" part. The kunoichi was wrong about one thing: the battle wasn't over. And who the hell did she think she was? Messing with S-rank shinobi like this! She's obviously not good at planning attacks; that was for sure.

"This battle isn't over." I said in a dead-serious monotone. "It's far from over; you are going down..."

The kunoichi gasped and quickly jumped up and dodged some paper kunai I threw in her direction. And then she glared and started charging for some punches; one thing was sure, she was going to fight even without chakra. But she was much weaker then before; so I had the advantage...

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"Konan! Stop right now, you can't possibly go on."

I stopped my panting and glanced up at Pain; who had intervened in the fight after thirty minutes into it. I probably looked like a mess at that point; my hair was out of it's usual style and freely blowing in the wind, my cloak was ripped in some places, and I had many cuts and injuries.

But the bitch of a Leaf kunoichi wasn't in the best shape either. Her clothes were torn in places, her hair was all in her face, her left leg had a big gash in it, and she had several small cuts and injuries as well as her burnt arm. She was also unconscious and was tied up in some rope that also had my chakra running through it; so she couldn't escape easily.

The fight between us wasn't a very pretty one. I had to resort to using much more violent attacks because the blizzard was so bad, my exposed skin was being harmed greatly. And the kunoichi had to resort to taijutsu, but still couldn't land hits on me much because she was exhausted from using all her chakra.

"You're right..."

I closed my eyes in pain from my minor injuries and then glanced over at the spot where Itachi fell to when the bitch kicked him. He wasn't there anymore and there was just some blood lying in the snow.

The blizzard had also stopped, and returned to lightly snowing again about ten minutes ago. My eyes softened as I glanced over at that area and looked up at Pain's face.

"What happened to Itachi?" I asked; evident worry in my tone.

Pain glanced away and then looked back at me. The moment felt a little tense. And I couldn't help but be slightly worried by what he would possibly tell me.

"Everyone took him back inside the base. Kakuzu examined Itachi...and he said that he's unconscious, but will wake up eventually. He also mentioned that he might have a couple of broken bones somewhere in his chest or it could be his ribs." Pain replied. "There's also several minor wounds; but they aren't life-threatening."

I felt my eyes widen and a breeze suddenly blow through my hair and mess it up as he explained all that. I felt really terrible at that point; I should have backed up Itachi as soon as we first witnessed the fight. I felt so stupid for not doing anything sooner. If I had stepped in...he wouldn't be in worse shape then he already was before this happened!

"I need to check on him." I said as I got up on my knees. "...I have to see if he's okay."

Pain gasped slightly as he saw me struggle to get up. He quickly put his arm around my shoulder and helped me up; I mumbled a thank you and then wiped the snow off me.

"Itachi will be fine; I have Kakuzu checking in on him. Right now we have to find out what this kunoichi was planning when she came here." Pain told me; he was obviously more worried about what the bitch was doing here. Just like him to do that...

"...You want to know why I'm here?"

Me and Pain turned around and saw the kunoichi look up at us with a dreary look. She obviously just gained consciousness. But I could tell that something felt different about her; she seemed less confident and a little more angsty.

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"I was originally a Leaf shinobi. I graduated the academy at twelve and was a little bit later doing it because I always had a little weak spot in ninjutsu...and my two teammates were much more skilled then I was."

All of us Akatsuki, excluding Itachi and Kakuzu, listened to the strawberry blond-haired bitch explain herself. She mentioned that her name was _Mayumi_. But for some reason...she wouldn't tell us her clan name; she refused to when Pain asked her of it. She just mentioned that her clan wasn't known much and barely even considered a clan of ninja because of it's infamous, _weak_ reputation.

Mayumi glanced away from all of us briefly and then looked back. She was still tied up but was sitting on the floor against the wall. And I stood near here; glaring once in a while.

"So what's your status?" Pain asked.

Mayumi sighed and looked up at him.

"I became a chunin at sixteen. But...I wanted to become a jounin and attempted to; I never got to that rank no matter how hard I tried. I wanted my clan to finally be considered strong...and full of rejects and failures." Mayumi explained with an angsty look in her eyes. "At eighteen I became very depressed and questioned why I even tried to become a shinobi. I wasn't really worthy to be called that, right? So...I just..couldn't take things anymore. I slaughtered my teammates and even a few people in the clan in my depressive mood and crossed out my headband with a kunai; declaring myself a rogue nin, I disappeared into the night and never looked back at the village."

I listened to that story; soaking up it all. Silence overcame everybody as we exchanged looks. Mayumi's story definitely wasn't made up, I saw the serious look in her eyes. But I guess Hidan didn't believe it because I heard him whisper something to Zetsu and roll his eyes.

Pain nodded, probably making a decision, and then looked back at Mayumi with a serious look in his eyes.

"So why were you trying to sneak up on the base? Were you spying?" Pain asked her.

Mayumi rolled her eyes and sat up against the wall with a small smirk on her face. She suddenly seemed kind of amused at something.

"I came here because...I want to _join_ the Akatsuki." Mayumi replied; suddenly looking serious. "...I really have no other use in this world; if I can prove to be useful for somebody, then I'll finally be at rest. Even if I'm a mere tool to all of you."

"That's kind of stupid, yeah.." I heard Deidara comment. I sent a glare at him but I don't think that did anything.

"Pain, are you really going to let her join?" I asked in shock when I noticed his thoughtful expression.

"...Are you?" Mayumi asked; staring at Pain with a surprised look.

"...Yes."

I looked over and saw Deidara's jaw drop. He then leaned into Sasori's ear and I heard him whisper something about 'he always accepts the weak ones'.

Pain looked at me and nodded. I sighed and then lowered my had towards the rope with a paper kunai; I cut the rope and she fell forward but caught herself and grunted as she got up to her feet. Looking at her, I noticed her skin was slightly tanned and she was maybe a few inches shorter then me.

"You can join. It would also give us an advantage; you seem to be very good with stealth." Pain mentioned.

Mayumi blinked and stared at him.

"Stealth?"

"You were able to sneak up to Itachi easier then most shinobi I've seen in the past." Kisame spoke up.

Mayumi shrugged her shoulders and absentmindedly grabbed her hair and started to put it into a short ponytail.

"Well that's because my clan has amazing stealth abilities." Mayumi replied. Her hair has finally in the ponytail and she crossed her arms and her gaze flicked to the floor. "But it's still not recognized; and probably never will be since it was rapidly dying before I left the Leaf..."

"Then you're still useful to us, Mayumi." Pain said.

Mayumi glanced at Pain and smirked as she quickly glanced away; strangely, I thought I saw her blush a little.

"Thanks."

"Wait! We can't accept her! You don't even know what kind of abilities she even has, yeah!" Deidara suddenly spoke up.

Sasori glanced around blankly and then nodded.

"I actually agree with him on this one..." I heard Sasori mention.

Mayumi glared at Deidara and had a very blank expression. I could tell that she definitely was annoyed by Deidara all ready. Though, I couldn't blame her though; I had to quickly turn my head away into the shadows so no one could see the brief smirk that my lips suddenly twitched into.

"Oh, I can tell you that right now." Mayumi said with an annoyed tone. "My chakra nature is earth, and I have a lot of jutsu focused around that; though they couldn't work outside in the snow. My clan's main chakra nature IS earth, though some born from the clan could get both earth and _lightning_ in a rare case."

Deidara stared blankly at Mayumi and she smirked at him confidently.

"Did that answer your question?" Mayumi asked with an amused tone as she winked.

"You didn't have to tell me all the details, yeah!" Deidara deadpanned.

Mayumi rolled her eyes and looked back over at Pain. Strangely, I noticed that she seemed to be very focused on him, and I noticed a twinkle of interest in her eyes. Though I pretended like I wasn't paying attention to her. I just leaned up against the wall with my arms crossed and...my thoughts suddenly going over to Itachi.

Now that Pain decided to let Mayumi be a part of the organization, I knew what would happen next. He would test her and all that stuff he did with new members. I knew I wouldn't be needed anymore, so I took the chance and quietly slipped out of the room; I knew where I was going...

...To make sure Itachi was okay. I don't know why I was worried though. And after being around Mayumi I suddenly recalled what happened the other day when Itachi dropped by my room and...told me about Kisame's conclusion about us.

Why am I remembering this suddenly?

_End._

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_**...Done. I finally wrote it up and updated! I'm sorry it took so long! :( I really was too busy; life is just like that right now!**_

_**I hope this chapter was fine. If you're wondering why there's no intro or that ending thing talking about "winter" or the subject of the moment...that's because I felt it was getting repeative. So from this point to the end of the fic, those intros or ending things won't really be there. Or, I might add them once or twice before the ending.**_

_**And sorry about the terrible fight scenes. -_- I am HORRIBLE at describing fight scenes; though I can plan them out to be very good. Once I write them down, it's so awful. I bet I'll get flamed for it. Anyway, because I'm terrible at describing fight scenes, that's why it may seem like it's rushed.**_

_**Oh, and don't freak out over the possible OOC moments. *Sighs***_

_**The next update...? Probably next Monday. Or hopefully sooner. Updates will try to be weekly; because I have a few other fics that need to worked on too. So...just stay with me on that one.**_

_**Read and review~**_


	9. By Your Side

Author's Note: _***Sighs* Another late update. -.- Sorry about that; time got away from me! But hopefully this chapter could make up for that. :D ...Hopefully. -_-**_

_**Maybe this chapter doesn't really get us anywhere...but it does include some ItaKon. So that's satisfying enough, right? I think so.**_

_***Grabs fire extinguisher I was previously armed with* If there's OOC moments; I can't help that. So need to flame foolishly for that! ;P**_

_**The inspiration I got from this chapter...actually came from randomly listening to a song on youtube. It was really good; but I totally forgot the name now. -_- But I'm positive it was a song by Cascada. And I know what you're thinking. NO: it isn't based on the song! It was just random inspiration. ;)**_

_**Also...Is Konan a medic nin? I can't really remember. …. …. ….I don't think she is. But whether she is or not, she is in this fic. So don't go flaming me for making her a medical ninja! I'm just warning you about that, so you won't go "WTF is wrong with this freak of an author?" when you read that!**_

_**Anyway, read on now~!**_

**Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me in any shape or form.**

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_Romance In The Snow:_

_Chapter Nine_

_**;;**_

Konan walked along the freezing halls of the base. She hugged herself slightly as she did so. It was very freezing, and after being outside in that blizzard from fighting Mayumi, she was freezing to death.

But she didn't care. She had to see Itachi at that point. She didn't know why...but she was worried about him more than what she let on to everyone else. Konan blamed herself for not interfering with him and Mayumi's fight when she took notice of the blizzard forming. After all, would Itachi be in even worse shape than he already was if someone hadn't interfered? Of course not. And the paper mistress clenched her hands into fists as he her footsteps suddenly became a little less quiet than they already where.

"(_I hope he's okay. Mayumi...she better not have put his life in even more danger. If she did..._)"

Konan suddenly stopped walking and took a long sigh. She was getting a little too worked up at that point, but the thought of the new Akatsuki member putting Itachi's life in more danger made her blood boil.

Suddenly, rolling up her right cloak sleeve and staring at the several wounds that were across her paper skin, Konan suddenly questioned Mayumi's actions. If she wanted to join, why would she get into a fight with Itachi? It wouldn't make sense...unless; since she was from the Leaf, she knew of Itachi's infamous reputation there and his...crime. So maybe, since her clan; including her, was consider weak...she wanted to prove herself.

That was the only explanation.

Konan continued walking a little quieter, her steps light and her wounds still stinging. Whatever Mayumi was thinking when she let herself get into a fight with Itachi, she would have to find out about that later.

"(_Mayumi definitely had some tricks up her sleeve. But if she comes from such a weak clan like she says: why would she actually have some strength? ...Well it COULD be because she's been a rogue ninja; maybe she trained herself while on the run. Maybe she actually did develop some strength..._)" Konan brought her hand slightly and blankly stared at her 'perfect' appearing paper skin. "(_I don't know why I'm thinking about this though. It really shouldn't be of my concern at all..._)"

"I really should be checking on Itachi. ...Now where could he be..." Konan glanced over at some of the member's rooms. "Hmm...well the obvious place would be his room. I'll check there."

Realizing that, Konan continued to walk through the freezing hall. And blankly and without emotion, she glanced around at it. The halls were very empty pretty much; and very dark. Maybe a random, picture was on a certain wall, but it didn't really help light up the place.

Though as she shook her head, her blue locks of hair swaying slightly from where they were down, she knew that place was supposed to look pretty bare. There was no need to make it look homely; since none of the members actually _had_ or _needed_ a home.

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Konan finally walked up to the door. She stood there for a moment; deciding whether or not to enter. Besides, if Itachi actually was going to be okay...Kakuzu would see that she's worried about him; and he would, like everyone else, assume she "likes" him.

But if she didn't check on him, and he wasn't going to be okay, she may never actually get to see him again! Especially considering the fact that the poor guy's eyesight is wearing away and he's got a terrible disease on top of that!

...Konan was convinced that she didn't "like" Itachi. But that didn't mean that she couldn't still check on him. So she sighed inwardly and grabbed the ice cold doorknob. She shivered from it, and entered the dark room.

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"I guess I'm done here-"

Kakuzu cut himself off as he glanced over at the doorway. Standing there, was Konan with her hair still down and messed up from fighting, and a few wounds visible on her. Something was a little different about her though...the greedy man couldn't quite read her blank expression; but her eyes showed a little worry.

Glancing down at Itachi, he suddenly realized why she was worried. And he felt a little disgusted by her unnecessary worry.

"How is Itachi doing, Kakuzu?" Konan suddenly asked as she closed the door behind her; making the room very dark again. "Is...is he alright?"

Kakuzu sighed and walked over from Itachi's bedside to her.

"Don't worry. He will be alright...well, for _now_ anyway." Kakuzu replied.

Konan's heart beat suddenly sped up as she heard the last part. But she showed no signs of being fazed by that. She did know where he was going with that...

"I just came back in here. He's still unconscious; though I guess he will wake up sooner or later."

Konan's eyes absentmindedly wandered over to the floor and she felt a little tense suddenly.

"...How are his injuries?"  
"I think they're not too bad; mostly minor. But still...that Leaf kunoichi really kicked his chest violently; some bones are probably damaged."

Konan looked back over at Kakuzu and swallowed slightly. Kakuzu normally wouldn't have cared much about her, but she was very worried for him. And he couldn't help but be affected by the tense moment.

"I should have interfered..." Konan suddenly said; her tone lowering slightly. "Then he wouldn't-"

"You couldn't have done much in that blizzard anyway." Kakuzu pointed out; interrupting her. "Let go of that subject and move on."

Konan scowled at him, and she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall; having to try and calm herself down. Kakuzu just didn't understand at all!

"I'm going to help him. Leave, Kakuzu."

"But what could you possibly-"

"Leave! Go get information about Mayumi from Pain or something..."

Kakuzu was a little taken aback by Konan's sudden want to help Itachi. He didn't really know where she was going with that; because it wasn't like she was a _medical ninja_ or anything...

"...Okay, okay. 'Help' Itachi. But I don't know what the hell could possibly do..." Kakuzu replied as he walked off.

Konan watched as Kakuzu left the room and closed the door a little loudly behind him. She rolled her eyes at that, but suddenly looked very worried as she walked over to Itachi's bed.

"(_Itachi..._)"

Konan was now standing by the bedside, staring at the figure lying there unconscious. It was Itachi.

Though her eyes weren't too adjusted to the darkness, Konan could still see him; she noticed that he wasn't wearing his cloak, and was wearing his clothes underneath it. And a few minor wounds were on his face and arms; her eyes kind of stayed there on his arms though.

"(_I don't care what that jackass says, I still could have done something. If I had gotten in the way fast enough or something, Mayumi would have gotten me instead. Then you wouldn't be in any worse shape._)"

Konan's expression softened slightly and she lowered her hand over his face. She swiftly traced over it and then traveled up to his forehead; where she brushed some of his tousled raven locks of hair to the side.

Strangely, the Uchiha looked rather peaceful than usual. Konan came very close to smiling when she realized that he didn't look as stoic and intimidating as he did when he was awake. Somehow...she thought that he actually looked really cute.

"Itachi...you don't deserve this." Konan glanced over at the closed door and then back at him. "Not just these injuries from fighting Mayumi...but all that's happened to you in the past as well."

Konan lowered her head slightly and sighed.

"You're a good person..." Konan lifted her head up and scratched her cheek slightly as she glanced away again. "...I don't know all that much about your past, maybe, but I do kind of understand how you feel..."

Konan noticed that there was a little blood starting to drip out of an open wound on the right side of Itachi's face. She quickly ran her fingers over it and wiped it off. She stared at the blood that was now all over her finger and staining her 'perfect' skin.

"I can't put this all into words, Itachi...but I just want to make sure you're alright. And the thought of your life getting cut shorter and shorter as each day passes makes me feel terrible. I feel terrible that..."

Konan ripped some of the paper on her finger off where the blood had stained it, and crumpled it up and tossed it carelessly over onto Kisame's bed. She then furrowed her eyebrows together and looked up at the ceiling.

"I feel terrible that there's nothing _I_ can do about that!"

Konan sighed and looked back down at Itachi. She clenched her hands into fists and thensuddenly felt a little upset that there really _was_ nothing she, or anybody, could do.

She wanted to help Itachi. And she would one way or another. So she extended her hand over the few wounds that Itachi had. Suddenly, a soft green glow surrounded her hand and started _healing_ the injuries slowly.

Konan closed her eyes as she remembered her secret medical training; she had been training secretly for several months, and doing really well because of her good chakra control. She knew that they would all need at least one medic in the Akatsuki; since it was crucial that they don't get badly injured to the point of not being able to leave out or fight.

Pain was actually the only one who knew about her training. At night, he would sometimes pass by her room, or wherever she was training and watch her for a few minutes before going back. She knew that he watched her; she didn't really care though. After all, Konan secretly wanted to be strong enough to carry out the plans. And be strong to enough to...prove herself to everyone. She felt like nobody but Pain actually acknowledged the fact that she _is_ strong.

Konan smirked slightly as she thought about the fact that Pain watched her when she was secretly training. They never brought it up whenever they talked; so she wasn't really sure if he even knew that she knew he would watch her train. But somehow...she got the feeling that he didn't know that.

"(_Itachi...you are actually the first person I've tried to heal other than myself...I hope I can do this. I must help you somehow; this might be the littlest thing a person could possibly do for you though..._)"

Konan didn't think too highly about her medical abilities; they weren't the best. But they would be enough to heal him. Still...it enraged Konan when she realized that she could only heal the small injuries, but _couldn't_ do much for the big.

The angsty feeling she got from the season didn't help anything either. It was as if...the season was downing her more and more; the longer it went on.

Still, Konan felt her lips start to twitch into a rare smile when she noticed Itachi's eyes slowly flicker open.

"(_...I won't leave your side, Itachi. I'd rather die myself than you die. But maybe...maybe I can do something for once anyway._)"

_End._

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_**Okay...sorry for the short chapter! -.-**_

_**I couldn't really think of much...though the inspiration from listening to that song helped a lot! ;)**_

… … …_**Like I said, I'm not sure if Konan IS a medical ninja. I had to make her one for this to work out though; and it's not like she's a master at healing anyway. ...Right? Since I forgot whether she is or not. *Sweatdrop***_

_**Anyway, I hope this chapter was fine...now here have some of the hurt/comfort comin' in. *Winks and then smiles briefly* But WILL Itachi be okay in here? O.o Well...only I know. And besides, Itachi's one of my top favorite characters; I wouldn't want anything TOO bad to happen to him in this fic. (Like in the canon plot. TT_TT)**_

_**Hopefully...the next update will be next week. But I'm not too sure with that one. We'll just have to see!**_

_**Read and review.**_


	10. Rush of the Moment

Author's Note: **I have several ending ideas for this fic swirling in my head. But only ****one**** is standing out the most. ;) So...I think it's about time to wrap this story up soon. Finally complete it; and answer the big question: **_**Will Itachi and Konan stop being in denial?**_

**Since the ending is in sight...I'd say there's probably 3-4 chapters left. I was going to make it to sixteen chapters...but changed my mind. They were just a lot of filler stuff anyway; barely even about Itachi and Konan at all. -_- ...I know because I wrote the drafts in my spare time last month.**

**Anyway...let's just get going with the 10th chapter! It's probably a little short...but I can't help that. -_-;**

_**Disclaimer: I DON'T own Naruto...and this fic is making no money whatsoever. ._.**_

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_Romance In The Snow:_

_Chapter Ten_

_0_

"(_He's waking up..._)"

Konan continued to try and heal the minor wounds that Itachi got. She noticed his eyes slowly start to flicker open; so she figured he was finally waking up. The bluenette wanted to sigh with relief; but inwardly did it.

Seeing Itachi start to wake up was really a relief to her. But she couldn't help but feel disappointed that she was barely healing the minor injuries. She didn't want to fail; Itachi didn't deserve all the stuff he's been through. And all those minor injuries shouldn't even have been there; he didn't deserve that.

Thinking about that, Konan wondered if he had any more injuries; not the big like his diminishing eye-sight or the disease...but old ones from previous fights.

Even though Itachi was very strong; and much skilled...he still had weaknesses somewhere. Every shinobi does. None are completely invincible.

...And suddenly, Konan felt terrible for him.

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"So...are we done yet?" Mayumi asked Pain as she leaned against a nearby wall.

"I think so. You're in anyway, I guess this doesn't matter."

Mayumi nodded and turned to look at all the guys who were still there in the meeting room. A little suspense suddenly overcame her as she wondered what would happen next; since she's been accepted into the organization.

"Can we all leave now?" Hidan spoke up as he lazily looked over. "I need to get back to my room and begin a ritual!"

"There's all the time in the world for that, Hidan!" Zetsu's white side snapped suddenly.

Mayumi eyed Hidan and Zetsu blankly and then sighed. She noticed Pain was looking pretty exhausted; and couldn't help but smirk as she thought about how things like this possibly occurred every day at the base.

"Anyway...we're almost done. First, exchange names so there will be _no more confusion_ around here." Pain mentioned.

Then there was a collection of groans; followed by a few curses from Hidan and Zetsu's dark side.

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Everything was dark to Itachi. And he felt some occasional pain as he slowly flickered open his eyes. His eyes almost completely open, he noticed the room was completely dark, and there was a hand with smooth looking skin on his arms; but the soft, green glow around it caught his attention.

"Where..."

Itachi would have continued, but then a finger suddenly touched his lips and silenced him.

"You're in your room. The fight is over; just rest."

Opening his eyes fully, Itachi looked over and saw Konan standing there. She was still looking blank, but Itachi noticed the look of both worry and relief in her eyes.

"...Konan?" Itachi asked; kind of confused as to what was happening. "What happened to the kunoichi?"

"_Mayumi_ only came here to the base because she's a rogue ninja from a weak clan in the Leaf. After hearing her story, Pain let her join." Konan explained. "She only fought you because she heard about you; and believed that we would recognize her as a skilled ninja, if she could beat _you_."

Itachi nodded weakly and when he got a better look at Konan, he blinked as he noticed the minor injuries she had and her hair all down and messed up.

"So why do you look like you got into a fight? Did you try and fight her?" Itachi inquired.

Suddenly, the look in Konan's eyes became angsty.

"I had to fight that bitch! She could have killed you; and probably did put your life in danger even more!" Konan snapped. Itachi's eyes widened as she went on, but she sighed and calmed down before continuing in her normal tone. "...She kicked you very hard too. And we took you back here; but Kakuzu says that you might have a few broken bones."

There was tense silence after that. Konan's face actually fell slightly as she tried to avoid eye-contact with the Uchiha. But it wasn't working; she ended up making eye-contact anyway.

"I thought that I could do something for once; since I've been secretly training to be a medical ninja for a little while." Konan added; she then glanced away sadly. "...I just want to make sure you're alright. Because you really don't deserve all this, Itachi."

"..."

"..."

Konan tensed up as she felt something grab her wrist. She looked down to see that Itachi had took her wrist and weakly pushed it away from his arm. Konan blinked and her eyes showed some sadness in them.

"You don't have to help me." Itachi said; sighing slightly. "...There's no point."

"I want to help you. I'm not going to let you suffer!" Konan snapped. "I'm sick of seeing you like this...slowly dying! Good people always suffer the most; and I hate it!"

Konan furrowed her eyebrows together and then brought both her hands close to her and closed her eyes.

"...I don't know why...but I can't stand to see you like this. It kills me...to think that you'll continue to slowly die and there's nothing I can do." Konan said in almost a whisper; Itachi heard it though. "...Please just let me do something."

Itachi stared at her; taking in those words. And he was really shocked to hear that from her, he felt some heat rise to his cheeks just thinking about what she just said. He didn't understand why should want to help him.

"Why would you want to help me?"

Konan's eyes opened and widened a little bit. She blushed slightly before glancing at the floor.

"I...I don't know why." Konan replied; it was true, she didn't know why. "...I just want to."

With that said, Konan lowered her left hand back over his arm and once again started healing it. Itachi meanwhile, was still shocked that she wanted to help him; and briefly glanced over at the window before shivering from the cold room.

"What were you thinking? Trying to fight Mayumi in the blizzard?" Konan suddenly asked after several minutes of silence. "You could have just...escaped_ easily_. Then you wouldn't have ended up like this."

"I..."

Itachi glanced away and sighed. He ran his fingers through his long locks of raven hair as he avoided her questioning gaze.

"..."

"And how were you even able to keep going so long? When we all went out there and witnessed the fight, I could sense that you both were pretty much out of chakra."

"I was able to keep going...because of you, Konan."

"I mean, it really was unnecessary-_what_ did you just say?"

Konan's eyes widened and she removed her hand from his arm. She could have sworn that her heart beat was starting to pick up as well. The moment became very tense, and Itachi just continued to avoide eye contact as much as possible. He himself, was kind of surprised that he just said that out loud.

"I...didn't say anything." Itachi replied.

"No. You did say something." Konan poiinted out. She then absentmindedly scratched her cheek. "Say it again, Itachi."

"...I told you: I didn't say anything..." Itachi replied; trying to not make eye contact.

Konan furrowed her eyebrows together; getting annoyed by how he wouldn't repeat what he just said. She actually couldn't believe what he had said; and just needed to hear it again...because it sounded a little revealing. But she wasn't too sure.

"Ugh..."

Konan looked back at Itachi and her eyes widened as she noticed him trying to sit up. She gasped slightly and quickly wrapped her arm around his back and placed the other on his shoulder to steady him.

"Don't move! You'll only make it worse!" Konan warned.

Itachi closed his eyes in pain as he rested there; in the position Konan still held him up in. He really felt drained from the fight; his chakra used up and his minor injuries still aching. But what really hurt the most, was his chest; it really hurt like hell.

Konan's blank expression was suddenly turned into a look of extreme concern. She hadn't ever seen the Uchiha in this shape; it really killed her to see him like that. In pain...and there was nothing that she, a medic, could do to help except heal the minor wounds!

"Just...lie back down. I'll try to do something." Konan said as she slowly pulled her arm back and gently lied him back down.

"Konan, you don't have to help me." Itachi replied tonelessly; looking up at her. "Heal your own wounds, you shouldn't even be injured."

"Mine can wait. I'm not going to leave you, Itachi." Konan stubbornly mentioned as she placed her hands on her hips. "Your life is already being slowly cut shorter every day! I don't want to see you die, and I don't want you to have to be in agony; because you really don't deserve any of this..."

"(_Why does she care so much about if I'm okay? Is she...?_)"

Konan glanced at Itachi's blank, onyx eyes and noticed that they had the look of confusion in them. Shaking her head, Konan placed her hand over Itachi's arm; and started healing the injuries once again. As the seconds ticked by, she sighed with relief as she noticed them completely heal and fade away. Itachi glanced down at his arm and blinked he then made eye contact with Konan again and decided to break the tension that overcame them.

"You're medical abilities seem to be very good. When did you start training to be a medical ninja, anyway?" Itachi asked.

Konan glanced down and smirked briefly before looking blank again.

"I've been training in secret for several months. I knew that...this organization needs at least one medic; we can't let ourselves get too beaten. Or we'll never capture all the jinchuriki." Konan replied; leaning over and healing his other arm then.

"...I see."

Silence once again overcame them. After ten minutes, Konan had healed the minor wounds on Itachi's other arm and even healed a few of her own on her arms. Now that she had checked on Itachi, she wasn't really sure what to next. A part of her wanted to try and heal his broken ribs; she had a feeling they were broken because Itachi seemed to be having trouble breathing and his chest really hurt. She also had a feeling that it was exactly two; like Kakuzu said.

...But she wasn't sure if her medical abilities were strong enough to heal those broken bones. Besides, it wasn't like she was an expert medic nin! Would she even be able to heal them?

"...At least I healed the _minor_."

Konan sighed and then lowered her hand to Itachi's face. She absentmindedly traced the scar on his face and then moved up to his forehead; Itachi's eyes followed her the whole time in suspense.

"I'm going to leave now. Just...just try to relax." Konan mentioned. "I know you might be in agony with it...but try to stay through it. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if you died a tragic _death_."

Konan's eyes softened suddenly and she quickly stood back up and brought her hand back to her side as if she touched fire. She felt kind of strange at the moment...like see wanted to just...

"(_...Why do I feel so strange?_)"

"(_This feeling...is it really?_)"

Suddenly, something very sudden happened: Itachi, despite barely even being able to breath or move, gestured for Konan to come closer. And despite her confusion, Konan got down slightly to be at eye-level with Itachi.

"...What are you doing?" Konan asked as she stared at him right in the eyes. "Why did you want me to come-"

Konan never got to finish her question. Because the complete unexpected happened: Itachi lightly grabbed her face and then, with what little energy he had at the moment, sat up slightly and pulled her closer; then crashed his lips on _hers_.

Konan's eyes widened; nearly bugging out at that moment. They never have been before; she was completely _stunned_ and caught _off-_guard for once! A hot blush crept from her neck to her face and stained it crimson as her mind registered what just happened.

It didn't take too long for Konan to pretty much melt into the moment. She closed her eyes in contentment, and kissed back; wrapping her arms around his neck.

And it seemed so right. Everything, including time, just seemed to slow down. The room was no longer _freezing to death_, it was _burning up_. Well...it would have been freezing to anyone else if they were in there, but Itachi and Konan were actually the ones burning up. They weren't cold anymore; and something kind of clicked.

A full minute passing, Itachi and Konan both pulled away to get some air. They're faces were probably going to be stained crimson forever, and they were probably never going to be able to cool down, but that didn't matter.

Konan's heart beat was now thumping loudly and she just stared at Itachi speechless as she tried to somehow piece together what just happened.

"...That...that was..." Konan commented; in almost a whisper as she tried to look away.

"...Unexpected..." Itachi finished for her; just as stunned as she was. And his heart pretty much pounding against his two broken ribs.

"I...I should probably get going..." Konan mentioned as she quickly brought her arms back to herself and got up from the floor.

Konan and Itachi just locked eyes once again. But they're eyes both showed surprise and extreme confusion as they tried to understand what just happened and why they suddenly felt much different than before.

What they didn't know however, was that someone was watching them the _whole time_. A very light purple colored eye slowly retreated from the very, very, very slightly ajar door and silently closed it.

_**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**_

Pain sighed silently as he just stared at the door that led to Itachi and Kisame's room. He couldn't _believe_ what he just saw with Itachi and Konan. He never actually imagined that those two would ever start to develop feelings for each other; it seemed so unlikely.

Besides, how could have not seen that coming? From what he'd heard the guys going on and on about lately, and the way his old friend has been acting since the season started, he should have been able to catch on. Then...he wouldn't have had to find out the _hard way_.

Maybe his expression didn't say it, but he was actually very shocked.

"..."

Pain just turned around and walked away back to his room. Taking in what he had just witnessed, he would have normally done something dramatic; like murdering Itachi in his sleep. But he didn't. Despite the fact that he was kind of jealous.

Pain knew one thing as he walked back to his room; the halls suddenly getting much more darker than ever and a sharp breeze suddenly blowing through the walls.

...He would have to discuss something with Konan.

_End._

_**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**_

**Oh...so what will happen now? Were you expecting that to actually happen between Itachi and Konan? And did you expect Pain to actually witness it? ;]**

**Don't worry, it's not over...YET. We still have a few things to clear up here, and then it'll all be over. ^_-**

**I can't believe this fic is coming it it's end. I remember only planning it out to be a simple one-shot! ^^**

**I just...love this pairing. And I wanted to add another to FF! Because you don't see this one written much; it's probably considered a crack-pairing for all I know. -_-**

**Anyway...sorry if this chapter is rushed. T.T I didn't get to write it back on Wednesday...then I started it yesterday...and finally finishing it today. :(**

**I SWEAR! THIS WEEK HAS BEEN SO BUSY FOR ME! D:**

**...Oh well, at least tomorrow's Saturday. ^_^**

**...Why am I rambling? Sorry about that, let's just move on! I'll try to update next week. If my life doesn't get in the way! *Winks***

**And anyway, hope the story's been good so far. Because the conclusion is getting pretty close. ;)**

**Read and review. V**


	11. Do I Really Feel That Way?

**Author's Note: Uh...sorry for the late update. I just...I just kind of kept putting it off! D: I shouldn't have; because I really wanted to wrap up this fic already...and then move on to others.**

**Don't think I don't think this story is good! I actually do kind of see some pretty decent parts after rereading it all. But some parts...I would KILL to rewrite. -.-' Whoa...I'm getting a little violent now. I think I will STOP blabbing and let you read the chapter already!**

**The story isn't over just yet. This chapter, and then at least 2 more is what I have planned. ^^**

**Well, you know the drill: read the chapter, my readers!**

_**:XXXX:**_

_Romance In The Snow:_

_Chapter Eleven_

_0_

"_Oh god, I can't believe what just happened back there..._"

Konan slipped out of Itachi and Kisame's room hastily. She pretty much slammed the door off the hinges and then turned around and leaned against it; her cheeks still a bright crimson color and her heart beat barely calming down. What just happened...stunned her.

"_That was so sudden, but yet, I feel like it was bound to happen eventually. HOW the hell could I just completely melt into the moment and pretty much make-out with ITACHI of all people?_" Konan thought as she closed her eyes. "_We came so close to actually kissing a few times back...but now that it actually did happen..._"

Konan sighed and opened her eyes as she lightly touched her lips.

"Damn, he's almost PERFECT when it comes to kissing..." Konann said in almost a barely audible whisper. Her tone was annoyed and surprised at the same time. "...I almost want to go do it again."

Realizing what she just blurted out, Konan's eyes widened and she did a double-take at the door.

"What the hell am I saying? It shouldn't have even happened in the first place. I mean, it's not like we could ever...ah...have feelings for each other. And there is no way Nagato would allow it."

Konan knew that she wasn't completely right. She may have never really had feelings like that for a certain guy before, but she heard that feelings like that were very unpredictable; they could always be there making you feel strange until you realize...you actually do feel that way about the person. Konan still didn't want to believe she did like Itachi. She wasn't about to be convinced that she liked him, and then get her hopes too high until she finds out that she really doesn't feel that way.

...After all, maybe she was just worried about Itachi; yes...thinking about it, Konan realized that that possibility was likely. Maybe she was just...worried...or not. Whatever it was, she didn't know what to do or who to talk to about it.

"_I'm so screwed now. I can't think and I'm so confused right now. I don't know why he kissed me, and I don't know why I enjoyed it greatly. But what I do know is...something definitely is not right._"

Konan just relaxed against the door and sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day at the moment. She really was confused, and didn't know what to do.

"Konan."

Konan blinked and then pulled herself out of her thoughts. She noticed Pain standing there; looking normal as always...but she could sense something was going on with him by the brief look she saw in his eyes.

"Oh, what is it?" Konan asked; brushing her hair back and then rolling back down her sleeves.

"We're all done with Mayumi. She's a full member and will be partner-less for the time being." Pain explained; almost hastily. Or, Konan felt he was a little hasty. "Since it's over...I need to talk to you about something important."

"Something important?"

"...Yes. Can you come with me for a minute?"

Konan didn't really know what Pain wanted to talk about. But she knew she couldn't really turn that down; because she really did need to talk to _somebody_ at that moment. She quietly replied yes and Pain nodded before walking back down the freezing halls of the base. Konan followed, and they both went into his room.

_**:XXXX:**_

"Dammit, I missed capturing the look on Konan's face when she left Itachi's room, yeah!" Deidara grumbled to himself as he sneakily peered around the corner. "I miss ALL the good stuff I guess, yeah..."

Sighing, Deidara looked back down at the camera in his hands and furrowed his eyebrows together.

"That would have been the perfect thing I could use for my epic blackmail plan, yeah. Because by the looks of it, SOMETHING must have happened in there!"

"Deidara, what ARE you doing with that camera?"

A panicked look crossed over Deidara's face as he nearly dropped the camera and turned around to find Sasori (not inside Hiruko) staring blankly at him.

"Ugh! I don't have time for all these INTERRUPTIONS, yeah!" Deidara shouted in frustration; Sasori's eyes widened and he stepped back a little. "I can't chat! I'm plotting, yeah!"

Deidara smirked evilly, and Sasori just stared very blankly before sighing as a "WTH?" look crossed over his face. The puppet master walked off without saying anything and Deidara just rolled his eyes while muttering something about nobody understanding him.

_**:XXXX:**_

Pain and Konan entered the room. It was kind of silent for several minutes; and it wasn't good silence. It was kind of like...awkward silence. Konan dreaded the seconds that ticked by because she hated it when awkward silence overcame the two of them. They usually could talk easily to each other. But now...it was as if they were strangers.

Pain didn't want the silence to last, and he felt like he should come out with what he was going to say already; so he cleared his throat in an attempt to clear the silence. And Konan looked over at him from where she was leaning against the wall.

"Konan...I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

A little hesitant, Pain sighed and then came out with it already; but it kind of surprised Konan.

"For a little while, I've noticed both you and Itachi and have been acting a little strange. Everybody has been talking about that nonstop, and I think I have a feeling about what's going on." Pain mentioned. "...You have _feelings_ for Itachi, don't you?"

"_WHAT?_" Konan almost screamed in her mind. "_How the HELL am I supposed to answer this? I don't even know the answer to that one myself! But by the way he's looking at me intensely...he wants a truthful answer. How can I reply to this one?_"

"Listen, it's okay if you do. I just...I'm just a little stunned because I never imagined that-"

"Pain...you saw us kiss earlier, didn't you? I sensed you behind the door." Konan suddenly asked; staring as emotionless as ever...but her cheeks suddenly glowing bright pink in the dark room.

_**:XXXX:**_

Meanwhile, outside the room's door, Mayumi had her chakra masked and was standing against the door with her ear pressed against it. She was hearing the entire conversation Pain and Konan were having and was almost amused by Konan's situation; since they fought out in that blizzard, she sensed that the paper mistress was very set on pretty much murdering her for what she did to Itachi. She could tell, even though she only knew her from what she's heard of her, that she was fighting _for_ the injured Uchiha.

Which kind of hinted to her that something was going on.

"_Wait, her and Itachi kissed? I smell jealously!_" Mayumi thought in amusement; suddenly frowning again and sticking her ear back to the freezing door.

"...Ah...well I guess I was watching. I wasn't interested in eavesdropping or snooping, but I had originally came by to ask you to introduce yourself to Mayumi."

"...I see."

"Look, answer the question. Do you really like him or not?"

"Pain..."

"What?"

"Pain, I don't know. I just don't know anymore, I am so confused from all this..."

Mayumi sighed quietly to herself and backed away from the door; being careful not to alert them to her presence.

"_You don't know, huh? Well...I do feel kind of bad for her. If I'm going to get truly accepted into this organization, I will need to prove to them that I'm useful. The first step: helping Konan's problem!_" Mayumi thought. A smirk made it's way onto her face as she walked off to Itachi and Kisame's room. "_I just have to get Itachi's side of this whole thing. Besides, it's obvious they both must have some kind of feelings for each other. Once I can get the information I need; solving their problem should be easy unless interruptions interfere..._"

Mayumi felt like she could finally be useful; by solving Itachi and Konan's problem. Even though she barely knew them, she did know what was going on because Hidan blabbed and cursed all about it to her. And also, because of what she just heard from Pain and Konan. _Denial_ seemed to be the source of everything; that's what Mayumi thought.

If she could make the two realize the truth, she would finally have a little confidence and be ready to be a part of the organization; knowing she _would_ actually be of use to them.

_**:XXXX:**_

"Konan...how can you not know?" Pain asked; getting confused more and more as each minute passed. "It's either you feel that way or don't. That's it."

Konan sighed once again and avoided eye contact with him; she just kept her eyes on the ceiling while Pain was slowly getting more and more annoyed with her conflict.

"Maybe...maybe I do." Konan muttered; feeling heat rise to her cheeks when she felt Pain's stare on her. "...Or not. Look, I don't know. I have to get going now..."

"Can you just give a straight answer? I'm not forcing you to or anything," Konan stared blankly at him at the end. "But this could cause some angsty problems."

"What do you mean? There's already enough angst around here already." Konan pointed out; trying to change the confusing subject.

Pain, becoming really confused and annoyed at the same time, sighed deeply.

"We're not getting nowhere." Pain announced.

"That is what I've been trying to say." Konan mentioned. "Look Pain, I don't know how I really feel about him. But I couldn't explain it to anybody, because nobody around here truly understands."

With that said, Pain stared in shock at those words while Konan shook her head and then left the room. He got up from the chair he was previously sitting in and then walked over to the door and sighed as he no longer sensed Konan's presence there; meaning she left.

"_'No one understands'? You are wrong about that, Konan. A long time ago...I was conflicted about how I felt about you._" Pain thought. "_...And maybe I still am._"

_**:XXXX:**_

Mayumi's face expression really showed how she felt at the moment: confused and glad at the same time. She walked out Itachi and Kisame's bedroom; having finished awkwardly 'talking' with Itachi. And she had _never_ realized that just one person could be so quiet and emotionless. The one doing all the talking was her and, even then, she had to eventually stop for a few moments while she tried to come up with what to say next.

But she was relieved that she was able to get a little bit of information she needed from him.

Itachi Uchiha seemed to be emotionless, he seemed to think that emotions just got in a shinobi's way, but a certain thing she heard Itachi almost whisper under his breath made her think otherwise for the time being.

"That is one blank guy. I never realized he could be like that; but still, I have heard he was cold and all..."

Mayumi shook her head and tried to wipe a smirk off her face as she remembered what had happened.

When she first entered the room, she expected Itachi to be alert to her; but was surprised when she him barely being able to breath as he tried to rest in bed. However, he did know she was there anyway; and he asked her what she was doing.

Unsure of what to say at that moment, Mayumi had thought for a moment and then told him about herself; her name, and why she was there. She also mentioned that she didn't mean to beat him up that _badly_. He didn't respond to that; so she didn't know whether or not to take it as good or bad.

Finally, she risked everything and started questioning him about Konan; asking things about who she was and her various jutsu and stuff. Mayumi was surprised when he seemed to know a lot about her. And then she decided to come right out with it and asked: "Do you think you might be falling for her?" which shocked Itachi; she saw it in his eyes. There was awkward silence following that, and Mayumi shuddered at the moment as she remembered how dreadful and suspenseful it was.

It seemed like she wouldn't get an answer...

Until she noticed Itachi break eye contact with her and then say in almost a whisper, a barely audible: "I have been wondering that for a while myself. But...I don't know."

"I found the information I need!" Mayumi said to herself as she entered her room and quickly made a few handsigns to perform some kind of jutsu. "If neither know, then I will just have to make the truth come out."

Pressing her palm to a scroll's center, a puff of smoke appeared and then she smirked as she noticed the object she had summoned.

"Besides, I have a feeling of what the truth is...but I can't jump to conclusions just yet."

_End._

_**:XXXX:**_

**...Of course you can't jump to conclusions just yet, Mayumi. But the truth will be revealed in the next chapter! ;)**

**Sorry about the short chapter, but it's setting a little event that will make the truth be revealed. So you might want to stick around for it. :)**

**I hope this chapter was fine. It might have been a little rushed because I was trying to type it up already while my little bit of freetime was still there! -.- There might not have been any interaction between Itachi and Konan; but there will be in the next. ;)**

**I will try to update it on time; next Thursday. Unless something comes up...I'll do it over the weekend.**

_**Read and review.**_


	12. Their True Feelings

**Author's Note: Alright, it's the 12th chapter! The truth is finally out! And there's a little bit of a timeskip from the last chapter to this one: about a week.**

**I don't really have much to say. So...read on now! :)**

_**:XXXXX:**_

_Romance In The Snow:_

_Chapter Twelve_

A week. A week had officially went by. A week full of coldness, confusion, angst, and uncomfortable moments for Itachi and Konan.

The two didn't really understand just what was going on. It all started once winter began; and, like normal, they would be really angsty over the season. But...something strange happened to them both when they encountered that night.

Different emotions seemed to be coming out since then. Emotions that neither of the two shinobi barely ever experienced.

And something clicked between them. Something that they hadn't actually felt since...the time they _first_ met. When they had first met, a sudden _weird_ feeling overcame them both. But afterward, they just dismissed it; and tried to believe it was nothing. Time had passed since they first met, of course, and they barely even had thought about it since.

That same weird feeling once again overcame them after they had encountered that night. The past few days after that had been very awkward and confusing. Konan didn't know why she suddenly wanted to help Itachi; and make sure he didn't die _too_ soon; or why she actually enjoyed the sudden kiss. Itachi didn't know why he hated that he let himself get injured; but actually wanted _Konan's_ help. Or why he did kiss her...and enjoy it as well.

Things weren't going so wonderful for the other Akatsuki members either: Pain was confused and shocked, Deidara was sneaking around and planning unnecessary 'epic' blackmail, Sasori had to keep 'implying' to Konan that she was in denial, Kisame was in the same position as Sasori; only with Itachi, Hidan wanted to murder Mayumi because she insulted Jashin and the religion itself, Zetsu was trying to keep Tobi away from Konan and Itachi; because he didn't want him to interfere like always, Kakuzu _STILL_ refused to accept that Konan had lied to him about money being thrown out in the snow from several days ago_*_; and still was outside searching for it, and the newest member Mayumi, she had been busy for an entire week; trying to set up something that would get Konan and Itachi's true feelings for each other out.

"Whew. I'm almost done with it."

Mayumi sighed and brushed some of her hair behind her ear, then went back to keeping her hands together in a sign; chakra faintly and slowly being released into the scroll she had spread out on the floor of her room.

"If I WAS good at controlling my chakra and focusing it," Mayumi bitterly mumbled under her breath as she tried to focus her chakra. "Then this entire process would have taken approximately _six hours*_ to complete!"

Mayumi did come from a weak and barely known clan, and she wasn't always good with chakra control and trying to focus it. But still, she wanted to prove to everybody that she was a decent shinobi: that she did have a place in the Akatsuki. Because despite how everyone's been acting, they apparently thought she was okay enough. But _she_ didn't think so.

In her mind: by helping Itachi and Konan, everyone else would see that she's useful. All Mayumi wanted anyway was to be of use to someone; no matter what the cost of that was.

Mayumi was slowly becoming drained though. And her eyes slowly started to close and she stumbled a little to try and keep herself up. She gasped slightly when she realized she was about to fall forward and quickly caught herself.

"...It's finally ready."

A tiny smile briefly had appeared on her face as Mayumi noticed that the marks written in her blood had formed some new mark; and a puff of smoke appeared afterward. Some kind of creature was visible when the smoke faded and it growled in frustration as he noticed Mayumi.

"...Mayumi! Why the hell are you summoning me for no reason?"

Mayumi rolled her eyes and got up off her knees and stood up.

"For your information, I could summon you anytime I want or need to. Anyway, I actually have a good reason to this time; so cut all that grouchy crap out and hear me out for once..."

_**:XXXXX:**_

"What's going on in there?"

"I think she's talking to someone; someone with deep and serious voice, yeah."

"Well who is that? **Who the hell would talk to her? She's such a bitch.** Zetsu, zip it!"

Deidara groaned under his breath as he rolled his eyes. He really didn't want to be there at the moment; outside Mayumi's room with Zetsu and trying to listen in on what was happening. All he knew at the moment was that the Grass nin had pulled him away from his blackmailing and told/forced him to listen outside Mayumi's door. Apparently, he was either nosy or suspicious.

"Look, I'm tired of getting pulled away like this, yeah. You've got two sides there; one of you listen in!" Deidara exclaimed as he gave up and walked away from the door.

"**Deidara!**"

"If you're that suspicious of her, just hide a secret camera in there, yeah!" Deidara mentioned before leaving quickly.

Zetsu stared for several seconds. And then he sighed and went back to listening to Mayumi's conversation with the 'person' in there. Actually, he was suspicious of her. He didn't really trust her much.

_**:XXXXX:**_

Konan quickly opened the door and lightly closed it behind her. She had entered Itachi and Kisame's room because she was about to try and heal the former's broken ribs again. In the past week, she had been trying really hard to heal them. She wanted to help in any way possible; and she had a pretty wild idea why, but tried to not think about that.

Since the day...the 'incident' between them occurred, she had been trying to avoid him for about a week. She didn't want to avoid him, but she couldn't really handle the stress that would come over her by seeing him and thinking about the 'incident', she wanted to believe it was. Ever since then, she'd been having flashbacks about that kiss; along with all the other things that had happened to them since the despised season started. Itachi and Konan actually both felt like something..._something_ was slowly coming together as time passed. But they couldn't really figure out what. One thing both did know, was that it was a really weird feeling; something neither had ever actually felt before.

Or even expected to feel that before.

"_I wonder if Itachi is awake...if he is, I'll just come back tonight or something. I can't_-"

Konan left her thoughts all together when she looked through the dark room, her eyes adjusted to darkness ever since she's entered the base for the very first time, and noticed Kisame leaning against the wall reading a book of some kind. Konan couldn't it well; but it appeared to be kind of neat looking and was colored black.

"Kisame."

Kisame mumbled something and then quickly turned his head to see Konan.

"Hey. Are you here to see Itachi or something?"

"...Shut up." Konan mumbled as her cheeks suddenly felt warmer than they were earlier.

"Okay..."

Konan glared at him, and then looked over at Itachi's bed; the Uchiha was in it and sleeping.

"How is he doing?" Konan asked a little too quickly as she looked over at the shark man.

"Itachi? Well...he won't really tell me. But he apparently is still in a little pain when breathing or making a certain movement." Kisame replied before turning a page. "Last night, I noticed he was still awake at about three in the morning. He seemed to be in deep thought; and was writing in this journal here. So...I just kind of went back to sleep."

"Oh, I see-wait..." Konan furrowed her eyebrows together and looked back at Kisame. "Would that book you're reading happen to be it?"

Feeling tense suddenly as he felt Konan's glare, Kisame sighed before turning the page again.

"... … ...Yes."

"Give me that!"

Konan quickly swiped the journal away and then examined the front and back of it. It obviously was the Uchiha's: because of his clan's symbol on the back. She was kind of ticked off that _Kisame_ would read it. Was he really that nosy?

"You might actually want to read that too." Kisame mentioned as he gestured to the book. "I wasn't _snooping_ per se, but I was curious. And there is some stuff about _you_-"

"Kisame, leave."

Seeing the angry look in Konan's eyes, Kisame just gave up and wordlessly left. He wanted to question why he had to leave, but decided against it. After all, she was obviously angry at him for being "curious".

Konan sighed after he left and walked over to the small nightstand beside Itachi's bed. She placed the journal back on it without a second thought and then looked at Itachi's sleeping form.

_**:XXXXX:**_

"I shouldn't even listen to you. You know how your 'plans' never work, idiot."

Mayumi's eye twitched and she gave the summoned creature a glare. This creature was actually a wolf, with beautiful gray fur and mysterious golden eyes. Various injured marks, however, were visible on him. And a chained choker was on his neck.

He was Reiji; a ninja wolf who was very serious and anti-social. He was a summoned creature that Mayumi had struck a deal with when she was thirteen; Her sensei had taught her how to summon wolves; and she had accidentally summoned Reiji out of all the wolves she could have summoned. When they first encountered he immediately despised her and didn't want to help her, after they argued he struck the deal with her: he would allow her to summon him and he would help her in combat whenever, but she first had to learn a certain ninjutsu; she had trained for a month and was luckily able to learn it.

But that didn't change the fact that he hated her; and she herself had grown to be annoyed with his ways and his icy personality.

"Just do it!" Mayumi snapped as she crossed her arms and gave him an angry look. "Now, I-"

"Wait, what's with the cloak? You actually joined this organization?" Reiji asked as he gave her a questioning look.

Mayumi blinked and looked down at herself; sighing as she realized he was a little slow in realizing where he was and that she was actually in the Akatsuki.

"Yes I did, Reiji. Maybe I'm not the strongest shinobi-"

"You aren't."

"-But I want to be of use to someone. And...if this is the only way I can be of use in this world, then so be it."

Reiji blinked before taking in all that she just said. He looked away and briefly too his left paw and rubbed over his chin.

"I see." The wolf then looked back at her with a serious look in his eyes. "But you are actually a criminal now; is that really what you want?"

"Yes. Now stop talking and listen to what I'm about to tell you!" Mayumi snapped.

"_You're going to get it later for snapping at ME..._" Reiji thought as his eyes narrowed.

The next several minutes, Mayumi explained to Reiji all about Itachi and Konan; even though the wolf was already in the know of them because of his knowledge. She then mentioned that she had a pretty good feeling that Itachi and Konan had feelings for each other. Reiji didn't know where the former Leaf kunoichi was going with that, but didn't question her motives like he wanted to.

"Reiji, it's so obvious to me that they like each other. And if I'm going to prove to everybody in the Akatsuki that I am useful, the first step is resolving this whole predicament!"

Reiji growled under his breath and then walked over to her bed and jumped atop it before sitting there.

"I am not sure I see where you're going, Mayumi..." Reiji spoke up. "And I don't see why you need me. What exactly are you going to do?"

A smirk made it's way onto Mayumi's face; Reiji knew that when she smirked like that, it usually meant she was up to something. And he rolled his eyes as he imagined all the possible things that she had could have had in mind.

"I know you and me aren't exactly on good terms, and we barely ever work together..." Reiji gave her a deadpan look at that moment. "But I need you to cast that special genjutsu of yours; the one that creates an illusion of a pot of 'water', and the water 'turns' a different color when someone focuses their chakra into it before mentioning a person's name."

Giving Mayumi a confused look, Reiji sat back up and then sighed at how vague she was trying to be with that. One thing he hated about her was her tendency to try and explain everything vaguely.

"Are you talking about the genjutsu that only I can use so far? The one where it creates an illusion of a silver-colored pot of water, and the water changes colors to represent the feelings of someone who focuses their chakra into it and then says their name?" Reiji corrected coolly in his serious and monotone voice.

Mayumi stared blankly and had her hands clenched into fists. She eventually slowly released her hands and shrugged her shoulders.

"Exactly. So can you do it?"

Reiji thought for a minute and rolled his mysterious golden eyes. Mayumi mumbled some curses to him under breath as he did so.

"I would." Reiji mentioned. "But...I don't think I should help you if you won't help ME in return."

"...You're a jackass, do you know that?" Mayumi mentioned in frustration.

Reiji didn't like Mayumi much. And could barely stand her; but he was technically on her side. So he was kind of forced to help her at that point. But the skillful wolf did know one thing: Mayumi was really going to get it when this whole thing was over.

"Fine, fine! I'll cast the damn jutsu." Reiji exclaimed as he jumped off the bed and walked over to the middle of the room. He gave Mayumi a glare and then growled again under his breath. "But just remember what happens to those who annoy me..."

"Yeah, yeah, now here's the scroll you need. Cast the jutsu, and I'll allow you to leave!" Mayumi snapped as she pretty much threw her scroll she was previously using at him.

Reiji rolled his eyes and then walked over to the scroll. His eyes closed briefly and he placed both of his paws into the scroll's center where Mayumi's blood had formed a unique mark when it ran together. Chakra started being focused into the scroll and Mayumi watched the whole time from a safe distance while looking rather blank.

_**:XXXXX:**_

"_I wonder if he's okay..._" Konan thought as she leaned over slightly and gently brushed some of Itachi's hair from his face. "_I have been sneaking in here every night and staying for at least three hours: trying to heal those broken ribs._"

"...It may not be good for my body; not having enough sleep, but as long as I can heal you, I will put myself aside..." Konan muttered; glancing away and pretty talking to herself.

"I don't want you to go through all the trouble just to help me, Konan..."

Konan almost flinched when she heard Itachi. She didn't expect him to wake up so soon. She sighed and turned back to look at him.

"Are you still not wanting me to help you?" Konan inquired; almost sounded sad at the moment. "Like I said last week; you do-"

"That's not what I meant. I...I don't want all the unnecessary healing, and the lack of sleep to take it's toll on you." Itachi explained; now sitting up.

"...One of us has to suffer; it might as well be me." Konan mentioned; never breaking her eye contact with Itachi. "I have suffered before; but you don't deserve to either after all you've been through. So let me heal those broken bones."

Thinking about it for several seconds, Itachi really couldn't figure out why Konan was still so determined to help him. But he didn't want her to have to suffer; she probably did already at some point in more ways than one. But why did it matter to her if he suffered like that? His only reason for even staying around was because of his little brother's revenge-obsession, it wasn't like he felt there was any other reason to still stay around.

But he chose to let Konan help him. Somehow, he kind of wanted her to do it anyway. Because there was something about _her_ medical abilities; they weren't like any other medic nin he'd ever seen. Her abilities were very controlled and focused. She stayed so calm and cool when healing; seemingly not at all worried she could slip up. Maybe Konan hadn't been training for long...but he still felt like the broken bones were actually being _healed_ in such a short time.

"Alright. Now, ah, take your shirt off so I can heal you." Konan mumbled; now breaking the eye contact she was fortunate to have kept all that time.

Itachi did as he was told and stripped the shirt off as he pushed the covers back. Konan tried to keep her eyes focused on the ground the entire time as a blush crept up from her neck to her face.

Once the dreaded awkward moment was over, Konan collected herself and then placed her hand over Itachi's chest; her own chakra being used to heal him. It faintly and softly glowed light green as the seconds ticked by. Itachi just kind of lied there; seemingly interested in watching.

"So..." Konan mentioned; making eye contact with Itachi once again easily. "Do you feel any better?"

"Actually, I have been feeling better for the past week; but still, I don't think I'm better just yet."

"You won't be until I can get them back." Konan quickly replied before sighing. "...I just hope I can do this."

Konan blinked and was a little surprised as Itachi had grabbed her other hand and they were interlocked together. Her eyes showed that she was surprised; and inwardly, Itachi thought that was a little amusing.

"Well, don't doubt yourself. From what I've seen, your medical abilities are very good." Itachi mentioned.

"_...He really thinks that? But how does he possibly know?_" Konan thought. However, her lips briefly curved into a rare smile when she realized something_*_.

"Thank you."

There was silence after that, but the silence was awkward, tense, dreaded, or anything bad. It was good silence. Konan didn't notice, but Itachi did notice a faint camera flash coming from the slightly ajar door; and then blue eye with some strands of blond hair falling over it quickly back away while apparently smirking evilly. He almost rolled his eyes when he thought about who that could possibly be: Deidara trying to succeed with his 'blackmail plan'.

_**:XXXXX:**_

"That took a little longer than I wanted, Reiji." Mayumi mentioned bluntly as she looked back from the window at the freezing snow outside.

There was quite a lot of snow still built up outside; and really covered the base. Which made it kind of impossible for everyone to exit the base for several days.

"It only took twenty seconds. Stop your effing whining about everything, okay?"

Mayumi rolled her eyes and then walked over to the center of the room. She got down on her knees, and Reiji stood there too; examining the genjutsu.

"Is this to your liking, _your highness_?" Reiji sarcastically asked Mayumi as he looked up at her.

Mayumi didn't respond to that. She just shook her head and went back to examining the genjutsu. What was there was a silver pot; inside was 'water'. It did look real; but it was really an illusion. The whole point of the jutsu wasn't to be used in combat; it was merely for showing one's true feelings for the person they mention after focusing their chakra into it. The 'water' will 'turn' a certain color.

"Thank you, Reiji. I owe you one this time."

Reiji sighed and shook his head slightly before walking over to a nearby chair in the room.

"Whatever. Now I have to leave." Reiji mentioned as Mayumi looked over.

And Reiji disappeared just like that, leaving behind a cloud of smoke/dust in the process. Mayumi smirked evilly as she picked the pot up and placed it on her desk.

"Reiji's really helpful sometimes...although, I wouldn't admit that to his face." Mayumi mumbled. "All I have to do is get Konan and Itachi to come here separately and they will both see their TRUE feelings for each other..."

With that said, Mayumi put her cloak back on over clothes and brushed through her hair before walking over to her door and opening it. However, when she opened it, she gasped rather loudly when she noticed Zetsu standing there.

"Ah! Wha...were you eavesdropping?" Mayumi questioned as she glared at Zetsu.

Zetsu backed up, and then his white half said yes while the dark said no. Mayumi's eyes widened when she realized that she didn't know which of the two to believe, because she didn't know that the white half was telling the truth while the dark wasn't, she sighed and then walked off wordlessly down the hall. And Zetsu just walked off then; but he was still suspicious of all that he just heard between Mayumi and Reiji.

_**:XXXXX:**_

It took a little time, but suddenly, Itachi's eyes widened a little as he felt like he was able to breath better again. It didn't hurt like earlier.

"Itachi, are you okay?" Konan asked with worry as she noticed his eyes widening slightly.

"...Yes." Konan blinked after he said that. "I...I don't feel pain anymore and I'm breathing much better again."

"You mean...I did it?" Konan asked in shock as she stopped healing him and brought her hand back to her side. "After all this time has passed? I healed your broken bones and put them back in place?"

"Yes. I'm sure." Itachi mentioned as he sat up on the edge of the bed. Konan sighed with relief and barely was able to keep herself calm.

"I'm glad I was able to. Honestly, I was very worried about you this whole time." Konan mentioned as she smiled briefly.

Silence overcame them after that. Itachi reached over and grabbed his shirt and put it back on, and Konan kind of shifted her weight on her feet as she tried to keep herself from losing her cool and hugging him. Wait...hugging him? Konan blushed inconspicuously as she thought about why she would do that.

"So what are you going to do now?"

Konan blinked after hearing that and sighed.

"Well, I am exhausted after all the healing I've been doing, and the lack of sleep, I think I'll just go back to my room and rest." Konan replied.

Itachi got up when he noticed Konan walking over to the door about to open it and leave. He followed her silently and was a little surprised when she had removed her hand from the doorknob after it was opened enough to leave.

Confused, Itachi tilted his head slightly when he noticed she hadn't left yet. He figured that she would have already left afterward; seeing that she was tired and probably drained from using all that chakra.

And unexpectedly, Konan turned around and leaned in; lightly kissing Itachi's cheek for about three seconds. And before Itachi had a chance to respond, Konan pulled away and quickly walked out of the room and slammed the door behind her; feeling that weird feeling return again.

"...What just happened?" Was all Itachi could tonelessly ask aloud as he touched the spot she had kissed in bewilderment. It wasn't that he didn't _like_ that, but he couldn't really understood why she did that.

...Let alone what was going on between them in general.

_**:XXXXX:**_

Mayumi stealthily had attached herself to the hall's wall; right beside Itachi and Kisame's room. When she noticed Konan quickly leave and slam the door with a visible dark blush across her face; she knew it was time to chance everything and find out the _truth_.

"Hey Konan, what happened in there?"

Konan turned around and looked at Mayumi; who strangely had a look of curiosity on her face. Afterward, Konan explained what happened in there, that she had finally successfully healed Itachi's broken bones and was very relieved. But she didn't mention the sudden kiss she gave him. Mayumi was interested by what she heard and nodded as she took in all the explaining.

"That's good. But Konan, I have an important question for you." Mayumi mentioned; holding her index finger in the air. "And don't try to sidestep it or anything; because the truth must come out eventually."

Konan blinked before looking emotionless again and leaning against the wall. She absentmindedly brushed some strands of her blue hair out her eyes and stared at her curiously.

"What is it?"

Mayumi crossed her arms too and looked straight into her amber eyes.

"...Konan, do you want to know how you _really_ feel about Itachi?" Mayumi asked, hoping she would get an answer from her.

This question took Konan by surprise, but she didn't appear to be surprised at all. Actually, she had been wondering that herself. Maybe all that time...she was just in denial? Maybe Sasori was right? Maybe she really did like Itachi? These questions all floated through her mind. And Konan wanted them answered; she really _did_.

"...Yes. I do want to know." Konan replied, not caring that she could be chancing something.

"Good. Because I, along with all the guys, believe that you both like each other more than what you're letting on and are convinced." Mayumi commented. "Follow me to my room, I have something that will reveal the truth to you."

Konan nodded; she furrowed her eyebrows together and followed Mayumi to her room. What she knew at that point was that she was about to get a _load_ off her mind and maybe things would finally get back to normal around the base.

When the two kunoichi had entered Mayumi's room, she closed the door back and walked over to the pot on her desk and picked it up. Konan sat on Mayumi's bed the whole time; watching in suspense.

"Here we go. This is what we'll use."

Konan stared at the silver pot of 'water' that Mayumi placed on the floor in the middle of the room. She was a little confused at that point, it didn't seem likely that a pot of 'water' would reveal the truth to her. So she asked the former Leaf nin about it. When Mayumi explained all about it, including some brief parts about Reiji, Konan felt like things actually started making sense again.

"Now then, put your hands into the illusion of 'water', and focus your chakra. Then, say Itachi's name and the 'water' will change color to that certain feeling." Mayumi explained as she gestured to it. "Black means hatred, Midnight blue means obsession, white means neutral, yellow means friendship, orange means family-feelings, and so on. I'll tell you whatever color it turns into means. And Reiji says that the illusion will fade in three hours; so there's enough time for you to do this."

"_This seems odd. But Mayumi seems confident with this. I may not like her much, but I have no choice but to do this._" Konan thought as she skeptically stared at the 'water' in the illusion of a pot.

"Oh, and this is one-hundred percent accurate, Konan. So...whatever it shows is _true_. It really is how you feel." Mayumi mentioned as she stood there. "Now, even though you say you're a little drained of chakra at the moment...you should still have enough because it doesn't take much chakra."

"...Alright." Konan sighed and closed her eyes; she dipped her hands into the water, which felt like real water strangely, and focused her chakra into it. ".. … ...Itachi Uchiha."

Slowly, the water started to splash around a lot. Konan opened her eyes after about six seconds and took her hands out of the 'water'. She blinked when she saw that the water wasn't clear anymore; it was dark red.

"...It turned dark red. Mayumi, what does that mean? How do I feel about Itachi?" Konan asked as she looked up at a smirking Mayumi.

"...Dark red means love. Konan, you _love_ Itachi."

Konan's eyes widened. She was speechless at that point and felt her heart beat starting to pick up and pound hard. Everything kind of made sense at that moment to her; all the time she had that weird feeling, all the times she tried to convince herself that she didn't like him, the fact that she wanted to protect him from danger and keep him alive longer.

It did make sense. Thinking about it, and having that same weird feeling again, Konan realized that she did love Itachi. That was what her mind and heart kept trying to tell her.

"...Konan, I haven't been here long. But I could sense that you really did have feelings for him right away. And now that you know, I want you to tell him." Mayumi said as she watched the 'water' turn back clear from having nobody focus chakra into it.

"Tell him?" Konan protested as she looked up at Mayumi. "I would...but I really shouldn't; because it couldn't ever work out. Besides-"  
"It doesn't matter! You can't hide it forever!" Mayumi pointed out. "You'll just only hurt yourself; because we all know that Itachi doesn't have much of a life! It doesn't matter if Pain doesn't 'accept' it either, he wouldn't understand anyway; so don't bring him into this either!"

Konan stared at Mayumi blankly, and the latter sighed and walked over to the door.

"Maybe you're right."

Mayumi perked up when she heard that and quickly turned around as Konan got up.

"You know I'm right. Now, you don't have to tell him right away; but get it over with soon." Mayumi said as she opened the door and left.

As Mayumi left, Konan stood there for a few minutes, still trying to get what had just happened and what was revealed. She still was a little skeptical, and focused her chakra into the water again; but still, it turned dark red.

"_...I do love him. I...I can't believe this._"

Konan blushed a little and then left the room. She knew where she was going: back to her room to try and understand what just happened. She knew that she should tell Itachi that; after all, it was obvious he didn't have much of a life left. If she didn't say anything, it would only hurt her in the end.

But she had never actually felt this before. So she had no idea how she could tell him. One thing was for sure though: drama was picking up for everyone.

_**:XXXXX:**_

"Now, if you're sure you really want to know how you _truly_ feel about Konan...put your hands into the 'water' and it will show us the truth."

Itachi stared at the 'water' curiously. All he knew at that moment was that Mayumi had brought him to her room after asking him if he wanted to know his true feelings for Konan. It kind of surprised him, but he went along with her anyway; because he did want to know. That question was something he wouldn't be able to answer on his own.

Mayumi had told him all about the pot of 'water'. She mentioned that it was a genjutsu cast by Reiji, and that it revealed someone's true feelings about a person. But she didn't mention that Konan had already used it; because she wanted it to be a little surprise for him. And she loved creating drama too.

"Are you sure this really works?" Itachi questioned as he looked at her.

"It will. It's completely true. Midnight blue means obsession, orange means family-feelings, dark red means _love_, black means hatred, white means neutral, dark green means jealousy, and so on." Mayumi mentioned. "Here, I'll show you an example."

Itachi watched as Mayumi got down her knees and dipped her hands into the 'water'. She focused chakra to her hands and then closed her eyes.

"... … ...Hidan."

Amazingly, the water splashed around and almost mimicked a whirlpool as it turned from clear to black. Mayumi then opened her eyes and smirked as she kept her gaze on it.

"See?"

"...That is true."

Mayumi nodded and took her hands out of the water; it promptly turned back to clear then.

"Of course. I hate him so much...and his stupid religion too..." Mayumi said through gritted teeth as she trembled with anger.

Itachi just gave her a blank look as she stood back up and crossed her arms after collecting herself.

"Anyway, this is a very useful genjutsu; even if it is useless in combat. It wasn't made for fighting anyway; it was invented by Reiji himself, and that's what makes it very INTERESTING." Mayumi mentioned in a seemingly desperate attempt to change the subject. "Now then, you do it. And say Konan's name as you do it."

"_I've got no choice anyway._" Itachi thought as he got down on the floor and put his hands into the 'water'.

"_Come on...come on...I'm positive he loves her...focus your effing chakra into the 'water already'..._" Mayumi thought as she furrowed her eyebrows together. She was really in suspense at that point.

Itachi focused chakra to his hands. And he stared emotionless as he noticed Mayumi starting to sweat visibly.

"... … … ...Konan."

The water splashed around; once again, almost mimicking a whirlpool as it suddenly changed color. And the color it turned, made Itachi's eyes widen and made Mayumi hide a smile behind her hand.

"Dark red..." Mayumi announced as she brought her hand back to her side. "Well, it looks like the truth is out."

"That can't be possible..." Itachi mentioned as he took his hands from the 'water' and it went back to looking clear.

"Itachi, are you denying this?" Mayumi asked in frustration. "This is the truth!"

"No. I'm not denying anything." Itachi explained as he got up; Mayumi couldn't see his face but thought he might have looked a tad thoughtful.

Mayumi blinked and then crossed her arms as she leaned against the desk and rocked back and forth a little.

"Are you saying that you do love Konan?" Mayumi inquired.

"I have been wondering if I do or not. But I think I realize now that..." Mayumi tensed up as she listened to him. "...I _do_ love her."

"_This...is...GREAT!*_" Mayumi thought as she hid another smile. "_Even though I kind of figured he loved her, I didn't realize he did actually...AND know it!_"

"And now Itachi, you should tell her." Mayumi mentioned as she removed her hand after her smile went away. "After all, she COULD feel the same. Keeping this to yourself will only bring you pain. And plus, you don't have much of a _life_ left anyway."

Itachi knew at that point that he really did love Konan; but he wasn't sure he even should tell her. It did seem like he shouldn't...because it would just bring a lot of conflict. And there was really no place for love in the Akatsuki, right?

"...Itachi..."

Konan might not even feel the same way for all he knew. Maybe she was a very great shinobi and one of the most interesting ones he'd ever seen, but she, like him, wasn't one to really show emotions. Besides, she was really close to the leader; even though they were just good friends, she might actually have some feelings for him.

"What are you going to do now?"

Itachi didn't really know what he would do at that point. But he sighed and turned around; Mayumi blinked in bewilderment as he did so.

"I don't know what I will do yet."

With that said, Itachi left Mayumi's room and went to his own. Mayumi stood there the whole time in surprise, but then smirked and walked over to her door and closed it before sighing with relief.

"They'll confess to each other. My work...is officially _done_." Mayumi said matter-of-factly to herself.

The former Leaf nin was right. Her work was done, but it was only a matter of time before things would get a little unexpected for everyone...

_End._

_**:XXXXX:**_

**...WOW. I think this might have been the longest chapter in the entire fic. 0.0 But hey, at least the truth this out! Sorry if this chapter was a little rushed towards the ending; I didn't mean to make it that way, but I was busy at the time and had to cut it short. -.-**

**Still, I hope this chapter was fine. And BTW: there is only ONE more chapter left. :) Only ONE, and then this fic will finally be complete! It's...kind of hard to believe, really. *Scratches my cheek* The LAST chapter might be kind of short; sorry In advance if it is. -.-**

**I probably should mention this now: Mayumi and Reiji _aren't_ my OC characters. They are two OCs that my friend Mandy came up with; their back-stories to their appearance. She created them for fic she wrote down on paper (because she WON'T get a freaking account for some reason. T.T). She let me borrow them though; thanks again! ^^ Mandy mentioned that she might get a deviantart account; and possibly would draw them on it. However...we can't trust those words completely. :(**

_*In chapter two, Snowball Fights And Lust For Attention, Konan wanted to get everyone outside for a snowball fight. She knew Kakuzu would be easiest with certain bait (money); so told him that someone threw a bag of money out the window. Even after SEVERAL days...Kakuzu still thinks that the bag of money is out there. -_-' Yeah...anyway...awkward..._

_*My friend gave me all of Mayumi's information from her fic. Mayumi is terrible with chakra control; and can hardly use ninjutsu without it screwing up somehow. And summoning Reiji took a lot of chakra and time...it would have normally took six hours, but with Mayumi it unfortunately took a week._

_*What Konan realized is up to the imagination to find out. ;) I don't...I honestly don't know either; so you'll have to figure that out yourself._

_*"This...is...GREAT!" Is a quote from Spongebob Squarepants. ...I don't own that cartoon. -_- I don't even know why I threw that in; maybe just a little reference?_

**I will try to update this fic; either by next Friday or next weekend. :)**

_**Read and review! ^^**_


	13. The Conclusion

_**Author's Note: ...At long last! The final chapter! :) Whew, it took long enough! I can't really believe it's almost over though. I remember when it was only a oneshot I wrote for seemingly no apparent reason. Still, I think I actually am satisfied with the way it turned out; it's actually not as BAD as I assumed. However, I still think it could have been better. Oh, and this story is a little side-tracked from the canon plot of the series. So...near the end, things may seem a little out of place.**_

_**Anyway, I'm glad it actually started getting some readers too. That kind of shows me that SOME people are giving ItaKon a little attention; it's a pairing that, although impossible to work out in the series and isn't canon at all, COULD work out in...fanfiction of course. ^^ I personally like this pairing; because it just makes sense to me. And plus, Itachi doesn't have to be paired up with the obvious girls: Sakura, Hinata, or Anko.**_

_**Even though I like the idea of Sakura with Itachi rather than Sasuke, I still do not think it's a good pairing. Neither is ItachixHinata; I don't actually SEE how that one could work, unless it was in an AU fanfic where the clan leaders are forcing them to get married or something. ItachixAnko? *Gags***_

_**ItachixKonan=WIN to me, okay? :) And...I hope to see this pairing written more often. In fact, I might write some more fics with these two together sometime in the future.**_

_**Anyway, got a little off-topic there. -.-' *Scratches my cheek* I hope the ending is good. It might not be too fantastic or anything; but I tried. Sorry if...it's not too good.**_

_**Disclaimer: The anime/manga series, Naruto, doesn't belong to me. It never will. :|**_

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

_**Romance In The Snow:**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_;_

_;_

_;_

Konan couldn't believe what was happening, it was stunning. But if that genjutsu that Mayumi used to show her true feelings for Itachi _was_ completely accurate and spot-on, than it must be true.

Thinking about it as she quickly walked into her room and almost slammed the door behind her, Konan decided it was just crazy.

Even though...she should have realized that she was in love with him a long time ago; from the moment they had that short encounter the very first winter night, it triggered an emotion that neither assumed they still had.

"_I was so stupid to be in denial all this time. I refused to believe the truth, I avoided a really good person, and I put my best friend in an emo corner pretty much. All because of denial..._" Konan thought as she realized it was probably all her fault. "_I would blame the season right now, I despise this season true; but...it wasn't it's fault. From the first time I ever met Itachi, I should have not discarded the thought I MIGHT have been attracted to him._"

Konan kind of blamed herself for everything. She sighed and then walked over to her king-sized bed and lied down on it. She rested her arms over her stomach and stared up at the ceiling.

"...Itachi...

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"_Why did you choose me out of all the other members to talk to?" Itachi asked._

_That question took Konan by surprise. She blinked repeatedly in confusion and actually started shuffling her feet._

"_I don't know why. Maybe because...we possibly understand each other. See you tomorrow." Konan replied as she started walking away._

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

After recalling that moment, Konan sighed again and then closed her eyes. The room was completely silent; the only sounds was the blizzard forming outside, and her soft and steady breathing.

"I just don't understand how one encounter could trigger something." Konan said to herself in a whisper as she opened her eyes again and absentmindedly started making various origami shapes from her skin. "Maybe I never felt this emotion before, but...I don't see how that's even possible."

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"_I was able to keep going because of you, Konan."_

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"Well...it's not like I can't deny how I feel about him anymore. After all, I could name off several traits about him that's attractive..." Konan said to herself; smirking very slightly and bringing her left leg over her right. "In looks: he is very attractive. I remember several times I was almost a little too nervous to even make eye contact with him; those _eyes_...slowly fading away...but mysterious."

Almost smirking slightly, Konan recalled all the _many_ times she found herself pretty much hypnotized by those mysterious onyx eyes.

But her feelings for him weren't because of his looks.

Actually, the two of them did have something in common; something that kind of made them were they could actually understand each other...

Their _dark pasts_.

Both of them, their pasts weren't too great. Even though the situations were different, and the fact that Konan wasn't alone and had Nagato and Yahiko by her side, they still could understand each other. What had happened to them was completely different, yes. However, they both felt sadness, angst, and a little regret between the lines.

They could _relate_ to each other. Itachi...was the only person that she felt closer too, even though she had Pain. Technically, she didn't have anyone. Because "Pain" didn't actually exist. Even though the paper mistress was always by Pain's side, she felt like she was getting more emotionally distant from him more everyday.

Even beyond just their compatible situations, Konan found herself aware that she also saw more to him than just an emotionless cold-hearted murderer.

"_And...he's not really emotionless, cold-hearted, or anything like that._" Konan thought; almost naming things off her mind like a list. But she needed to do something like that at the moment; she was so surprised and yet, confused at the same time. "_I...I know he's got emotions. I know he had a true reason behind what he had done to his own clan. It seems like...once I look past all that, I see a good person._"

"A good person who doesn't deserve all that has happened to him." Konan mentioned aloud before sitting up and bringing her knees close to her. "Does this mean I accept him for what he is? Does this mean that...I don't care about what he's done; I just want him to be okay and by my side?"

She did believe that she accepted him. And that she didn't care if Itachi did murder his own clan in the past, and certainly: she didn't care if he wasn't really the most expressive person in the world.

Itachi was Itachi. Himself. A light blush dusted over Konan's cheeks as she realized that she didn't mind. As long as she could remain by his side _forever_.

"...I just wish I could tell him I _love_ him."

Konan sighed and got up off her bed. She walked over to her window and pushed back the curtains. Barely any sunlight had came through because of the clouds overhead, but it was nearly sundown at that time anyway. She opened the window and the rough form of a blizzard raged on; the wind tousling her blue hair and making her skin crinkle just a little. But the strangely-beautiful snow blew onto Konan's face. And she once again reached her arm out and let a few flakes all onto her hand.

Blank amber eyes scanned the strangely-beautiful area; it seemed that she lately was finding the season tolerable.

"But I wouldn't know how to put this feeling into words."

Konan stared at the snow that had been blown onto her hand. She slowly closed it into a fist, and crushed the snow afterward before letting it innocently fall back onto the window.

"I never have felt this way before. But...I do know that there's some _other_ feeling along with it."

Konan suddenly recalled the time she challenged Itachi to join the sneaky snowball fight she slyly planned out, and how they had rolled down into one of the drifts of snow. The area beautiful and breath-taking around them, and a strange feeling overcoming Konan. Then she recalled the time that Itachi had stopped by her room to confront her about Kisame's conclusion about their feelings for each other. He had somehow lost himself, and then he pretty much cornered her up for seemingly _no_ reason at all. She had that odd feeling again.

The both of these moments seemed to connect. She couldn't put her finger on it at the moment, but that odd recurring _feeling_ seemed to be something. Something...but what, anyway?

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

Deidara, having just realized he was coming close to completing his 'epic' blackmail plan, evilly smirked as he set down his camera and examined the 'proof' he had acquired ever since winter begun. He thought he'd come quite far with his very exhausting and chancing plan, his hard work would be rewarded very soon.

"At long last, yeah. I just need to develop this _last_ picture..." Deidara muttered to himself before grabbing the camera again and walking into the closet.

Unknown to the Iwa terrorist, both Mayumi and Tobi were walking past the room at the exact same time. Since they noticed the door was slightly ajar, they were peaking through and blinked repeatedly as they slowly and awkwardly retreated after hearing Deidara's muffled maniacal laughter.

Now standing in front of the closed door, Mayumi and Tobi exchanged blank looks. Mayumi had the impression that Tobi's expression was blank even under the mask so went with that.

"...Why do I feel sorry to have witnessed that?" Mayumi suddenly asked Tobi as a bewildered look crossed over her face.

Tobi just shrugged his shoulders and Mayumi rolled her eyes.

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

Somehow, Itachi knew all along that he must have had some kind of feelings for Konan. He just didn't know how. At first, he figured it was what Kisame kept hinting at: a crush.

_However_.

Overtime he realized that it wasn't just some 'crush', it was something that he hadn't ever really felt for someone before: _love_.

Even without the help of Mayumi, Itachi did understand what he loved her. When he had went along with the former Leaf kunoichi's suggestion, he didn't realize that he was actually right at the time.

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"_Mine can wait. I'm not going to leave you, Itachi." Konan stubbornly mentioned as she put her hands on her hips. "Your life is already being cut shorter every day! I don't want to see you die, and I don't want you to be in agony; because you really don't deserve this..."_

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

Itachi sighed slightly aloud and stared up at the ceiling while lying on his bed. The odd situation with Konan just wouldn't leave his mind. And he knew he should tell her, but he couldn't put it all into words.

There was so _much_ to be said, and so _little_ time left.

"Are you getting angsty thoughts over the season again? Really, it's not THAT bad."

Itachi looked over at Kisame, who was once again trying to replace the bandages on Samehada. Because of the fact that the season has really been rough; causing a lot of snow to be built up on the base, and the unexpected blizzards, nobody could really get out of there much. And it really was taking a toll on their plans because they couldn't get out and capture the Tailed Beasts hosts.

Because of this, everyone was pretty much confined to their rooms.

"It's not that."

"Okay..."

Silence kind of overcame the two. It wasn't good silence; it was tense silence. And Kisame begun regretting commenting on Itachi's state. He didn't even know what was going on, ever since Itachi had returned to the room, he seemed to be in deep thought over something. Kisame could usually read Itachi since they have been partners for a while, but he couldn't read him this time.

Meanwhile, Itachi knew that Kisame wouldn't probably be of any help if he told him what was on his mind, and what he realized. So he kept quiet and went back to staring at the ceiling vacantly while thinking.

"_I shouldn't keep this to myself, I know. But...these feelings will only get in the way of the plans. And what if she does feel the same? Even though that is a wild guess, if it were true: she would go the rest of her life probably wondering how I felt about her. It's obvious I will die before her._" Blank onyx eyes traveling down, Itachi glanced at his hands briefly and a look of unreadable emotion briefly was in his eyes. "_...Still..._"

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"_That is really unlikely, isn't it?" Konan asked._

_Itachi looked back at her and nodded._

"_Yes, it is...very unlikely. We could never possibly have those kinds of feelings for each other; they would only get in the way, since we are shinobi..."_

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"_I suppose I do really want to tell Konan. At least, I'll have gotten it all out of the way; and I'll just have to live with however she responds._" Itachi thought after recalling one of his and Konan's encounters. "_Konan, after all, is...the only woman I ever really felt this way about. And...I could list several things about her that's attractive..._"

Although Kisame had gone back to re-bandaging Samehada, he had briefly looked over at Itachi for some unknown reason. He noticed Itachi's cheeks suddenly turn a light pink color as he stared at the ceiling, and the Mist swordsman shrugged his shoulders before looking back at Samehada.

"_Don't_ ask questions...if I _don't _ask questions, I won't get freaked out..." Kisame muttered under his breath before _hastily_ grabbing the bandages.

"_... ...She is beautiful, but it's not all about looks. Even though...I do recall some times I found myself interested in her amazing amber eyes. No, she's also very calm and cool about everything. She's smart, powerful, and I know she isn't as cold and anti-social as she looks._" Itachi thought. He then got up and walked over to the window, Kisame watched briefly in a puzzled fashion; but_ didn't_ ask any questions. "_Somehow...I feel like we both understand a few things: hollow-ness, angst, and even a little regret between the lines. Maybe our situations were different; but we can relate to each other and are compatible because of that._"

Itachi didn't find him and Konan different from each other. Maybe their situations were different; but they both had experienced some awful things when they were much younger. Like Itachi figured, they _could_ relate to each other. They both understood what it was like to suffer; although Konan did have two other people by her side.

Itachi pulled back the curtains and then opened the window. Outside, the blizzard raged on. Sharp, freezing wind nipped at his face, and snowflakes flew around. But he didn't seem too affected by it. In fact; ever since him and Konan encountered back the very first winter night, he had been beginning to tolerate the season. Though, he couldn't really explain how his hate of the season was going away.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kisame _finally_ asked as he looked over at the Uchiha. "There's a blizzard out there! It's already cold enough in here; you're kind of making it a LOT worse..."

Itachi didn't respond. He just continued to stare out at the blizzard.

"_Yes...I do love her._"

Itachi reached his hand out and the snowflakes continued to wildly blow in the bitter cold wind. However, several flakes had collected onto his hand and cloak sleeve. He glanced at the snow on his hand, shivered a little, and then sighed.

"_I know there's something else too. I wish I could tell her how I feel, but I may not be able to put it all __into words._"

Several seconds passed. Itachi crushed the snow that had built up on his hand and cloak sleeve, then closed the window back; knowing what he was going to do next.

"I'll just have to chance it."

"Itachi, _WHAT_ are you doing?" Kisame asked again, sounding almost annoyed as Itachi opened the window again.

He knew Kisame wouldn't really understand, so Itachi didn't tell him all the details about what he was doing. But he did mention that he was going to see Konan.

And _that_ caused realization to hit Kisame and he grinned knowingly. Having been partners with him for a long time, Itachi knew that grin.

"Konan? I think I get it now. You're going to go confess your _love_ to her?" Kisame asked, snickering just a little bit by the last statement. He had known all along that Itachi had some feelings for Konan; but didn't know he was right until he had talked to Mayumi briefly some time ago.

"Kisame..."

"Mayumi told me everything. I kind of guessed it to begin with anyway!" Kisame replied after seeing the look of confusion in Itachi's eyes. Just as the seconds ticked by and the blizzard outside raged on, Kisame's knowing grin eventually went away and he sighed. "Look, I think it is about time you told her how you really feel. It doesn't matter if the leader doesn't allow it, or if she doesn't feel the same."

Itachi knew that Kisame was right. But he didn't reply to that. He nodded and then walked over to the open window and sent chakra to his feet before climbing out the window and perfectly standing along the outside walls of the base.

"Wait! Where are you going? Itachi!"

Hearing the almost hysterical protest from Kisame, Itachi looked back at the window just as the former ran up to it and frantically gripped it.

"I am going to Konan's room." Itachi replied matter-of-factly. "Her room isn't far from ours. She always retreats to her room at this time of night anyway; this is the_ only_ way I can get there."

Itachi was correct about that. It was getting very dark outside; being 7:00 and all. He knew that Konan always retreated to her room at that time, were she would relax and rest a little. Still...if he were to enter her room from the window, he could still get in there and tell her what he was wanting to to tell her. It seemed so simple.

Kisame, however, barely could figure out that logic. That was just strange, usually he knew were Itachi was going with things like that. Not that time.

"Itachi, you won't be able to see through the _blizzard_!" Kisame pointed out. "This is really chancing; you could slip and break-"

"If that does happen, I _don't care_." Itachi interrupted, causing Kisame to stare in surprise. Almost immediately afterward, Itachi started to walk along the walls of the base; even though he could barely see through it.

"Itachi..."

Kisame sighed and closed the window back. He pulled the curtains and then kicked some of the snow that had been blown into the room.

"Ugh...why do I suddenly have a feeling that something very dramatic will be happening soon?"

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

The blizzard was apparently not intending to end soon. It continued to rage on outside. The wind was very sharp and cold and the snow flying around wildly was very distracting. Still, Itachi continued to gracefully walk along the base walls.

It was a good thing that Konan's room wasn't too far away, because he could barely even see through the strong blizzard.

"_I think I'm almost there. I see a light..._"

A light was visible, so Itachi knew right away that it meant he was close to Konan's room. She was probably the only one to use a simple bedside lamp; everyone else either stayed in complete darkness or used candles.

If only the wind wasn't so strong, it was actually making Itachi slide a little along the walls. But he didn't stop. He just concentrated and sent more chakra to his feet. As if mocking him, the wind just got stronger and tousled his long raven hair.

Yet, he continued walking along.

And when the window was in sight, he stopped concentrating his chakra and jumped over to the window. Upon looking through, Itachi noticed that Konan was lying on her bed; her back facing him. At that point, it was now or never to tell Konan how he really felt. Maybe there was no place for love in the Akatsuki, and maybe he was chancing that, but he didn't care.

He was willing to chance everything.

Collecting himself once again, Itachi raised his hand to the window and hit against it. It wasn't loud or quiet; but he was sure she had heard it. Or at least sensed his presence there.

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"Mayumi? What are you doing here?"

Mayumi forced a little smirk and then looked away briefly before sighing. She had went to Pain's room so that she could inform him about what she had done, and about Konan and Itachi's true feelings for each other. Pain did kind of have a right to know, right? It was only for the best that he knew of their feelings for each other.

Even though...the former Leaf kunoichi had a sly feeling that Pain liked Konan a little more than what he let on to everyone else.

"Hi leader, I think you should know about something. It's...about Konan and Itachi." Mayumi mentioned just a little hesitantly.

"Konan and Itachi? What is it?"

Leaning against the doorway, Mayumi rocked back and forth on her feet a little but then shrugged her shoulders and, unexpectedly, stood back up and smirked.

"They're in love with each other..."

Those six words kind of stunned Pain a little. Although he kept the usual blank look he always wore, his eyes should shock in them. Mayumi was only able to notice this because, in the short time she's been there, she had immediately became interested in him. And after watching Konan from afar and being able to read her, it wasn't too hard for her to start being able to read him.

"...I see." Pain replied. Although, he didn't sound like he didn't care. And that just semi-surprised Mayumi. The leader glanced behind him and sighed. "But...I guess I should have seen that coming though. From what I have heard the guys going on and on about, and seeing the unfocused look in Konan's eyes ever since this season begun."

"...Let them be together."

In shock, Pain looked over at Mayumi, who's face briefly fell, he then glanced at the ground and ran his fingers through his fiery-colored hair.

"I don't want to see them have to suffer silently. They kind of need each other. Even though they're S-rank shinobi in an assumed cold-hearted organization, they still have emotions." Mayumi mentioned. "...Itachi and Konan are in love, Deidara has some feelings for Sasori, I have a crush on you, and...I'm sure you have _some_ feelings for Konan somewhere. Ect. You can't really do anything about that..."

Mayumi frowned and then started to brush some of her strawberry blond hair back off her shoulders. Pain seemed to be considering what she was saying. The former Leaf nin finally folded her arms over her chest and gave him a questioning look. It seemed like he would never reply, but then he made eye contact with her once again and sighed a little.

"True. I can't really do anything about that. They can be together, if that's the way it will have to be."

Happy with her reply from him, Mayumi nodded and then excused herself. She almost _ran_ to her room before he could see the stupid smile her lips had curled into.

She was useful after all.

Although she had to come right out and tell him her own feelings for him, his possibly feelings for Konan, and Deidara's completely obvious feelings for Sasori in the process. It was still safe to say that she did have a place in the Akatsuki; and hoped she would also be of more use in the future.

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

Hearing the sound of something tapping against her window, Konan muttered something under her breath and pulled herself away from her thoughts. She sat up and glanced at the window; only to have her eyes widen a little when she saw Itachi at the window.

"_WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING IN THE BLIZZARD? Wait...he must have been trying to get to my room; and I LOCKED the door. Ugh!_"

Konan quickly threw her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. She dashed over to the window afterwards and opened it, all while her heart beat almost beat out of her chest in shock.

"Itachi!" Konan almost screeched through the loud wind. "Get inside! You could injure yourself again if you accidentally slipped off the building; it's a _long_ way down!"

"I know. But I need to tell you something."

"Well please just get inside! And hurry!" Konan mentioned. She backed away, giving Itachi some room to step in. After all, who knows how long he'd been out there. He could have froze to death or something!

In a swift kind of way, Itachi jumped from the window to the room. Now inside, he sighed from _little amount_ of warmth and shut the window behind him before closing the curtains back over it.

"...Itachi, are you alright?" Konan quickly asked before walking up to him and gently rubbing the bitter cold snow that had collected onto his face. "I'm...I'm sorry you had to go through that just to get to my room. I shouldn't lock the door and prevent-"

"No. It's fine." Itachi assured; absentmindedly brushing off the snow. "Like I was trying to say just then, there's...something I need to tell you."

Konan blinked as she wondered what he could possibly have to tell her. A part of her wanted to assume that he felt the same way for her, and he would tell her that he _loved_ her. But after thinking about it more thoroughly, she declared that it would be impossible for him to say that.

Even though she loved him, there was a chance he couldn't feel the same anyway...

"Is it that important?" Konan blurted out slightly. She hadn't meant for him to hear that.

"It is."

"_Well...what does he have to tell me? Oh, this is just great, I feel my heart pretty much thumping against my chest rapidly in suspense..._" Konan thought as she watched Itachi walk over to her bed and sit down. He then gestured for her to come over.

Although a little surprised, Konan gave a little nod anyway and walked over and sat down beside him. But what followed after that?

_Silence_.

There was silence. It both tense and good at the same time. Neither could really start a conversation, even though Itachi knew what he wanted to say. When a minute had officially passed by, Itachi finally decided to chance everything. He closed his eyes, inwardly took a deep breath and exhaled. Making eye contact with Konan once again he reached for her hand; and perfectly interlocked them together.

"...Konan..." Konan blinked at the way he said her name, it was _different_. "I'm not sure how to put this all into words exactly; but I want you to know that..._I love you_."

Those three words at the end; they surprised Konan greatly. She was so caught off-guard at the moment and felt like she would almost gasp.

Itachi Uchiha...felt the same way about her.

"You...you what?" Konan pretty much stammered, a hot blush creeping up from her neck to her face. "You...you're in love with _me_?"

"Yes. I can't seem to stop thinking about you..." Itachi replied, sounding so sincere.

"_Whoa...he actually feels the same? I-I can't believe this. This strange feeling...oh, I wish we could just __escape what's happening around us. But...there is no place for love in the Akatsuki._" Konan thought, sadness suddenly in her eyes.

"Itachi...how long have you been in love with me?"

That question was something Itachi couldn't really answer. He honestly, didn't know how long, but explained that something must have clicked the first time they were introduced to each other. He himself didn't know what it was though.

And Konan had to bite her tongue to stop herself from mentioning that she felt something like that two, the first time they met.

"Konan, you're a very strong kunoichi, probably one of the strongest I've ever seen. Your medical abilities...even though you haven't trained much with them, they're actually very remarkable." Konan noticed the unknown emotion in Itachi's eyes, she felt the need to stop him and tell him she felt. But didn't say a word. Because of all the time she had been in the Akatsuki; _nobody_ ever complimented her abilities. Although Pain did briefly sometimes. "You are very beautiful too; and I was actually a little surprised at that the first time I met you."

"I...I think I did kind of notice that." Konan muttered; smirking briefly and then glancing down a little.

Itachi knew that what he said was true. He had always secretly thought her abilities were very strong. Seeing that beautiful origami she created from skin gracefully yet violently attack the enemy. It was worthy of some attention. The fact that Konan also was very good with medical ninjutsu, and was able to heal even broken bones in such a short time, pretty much amazed Itachi.

And there was really no mistake she was beautiful herself. Her blue hair, slightly slanted bright amber eyes with an angsty look in them, smooth white paper skin, ect. Itachi had always thought she was beautiful in her own way, but never did really get to see her much. Because he was always being sent out, or she was almost always by the leader's side.

Confessing all this, was kind of hard for Itachi. He never really had felt that way about anyone before; let alone actually accept it and confess. Even though it was difficult for him to put it all into words, they did come out right. And Konan did believe every word.

On the contrary, Itachi _did_ have emotions after all.

Now gently caressing Konan's scarlet-flushed face. Itachi sighed and glanced away briefly.

"...We do understand each other though, and when we encountered that night-"

"It obviously triggered something that was long forgotten." Konan interrupted. "I kind of wish that we weren't in denial all this time though..."

Surprised by Konan's last statement, Itachi blinked and stared at her in a puzzled fashion.

"_We_?" Itachi inquired. "What are you saying, Konan?"

Feeling a little nervous all of a sudden, the bluenette bit her lip slightly. Honestly, Konan wasn't really sure how she could put everything to words. But at least Itachi had told her that he loved her first, because she wouldn't have been able to do it first without screwing it up and giving him the wrong idea.

"Itachi...I love you too. I can't stop thinking about you either..." It came out in almost a whisper, but Itachi did hear that. And as several seconds ticked by, Konan felt her face once again flush hotly, but was a little surprised when she caught a brief sight of the tip of Itachi's slightly exposed ears. "I...I guess this isn't really the best time to be saying this though."

"Actually Konan, it is a perfect time. Because all this time; I've silently wondered how I felt about you and if you felt the same as well."

Konan nodded, taking in all that he had just said. She really had no idea that he was just like her all that time: wondering how they felt, and what the other person felt. The moment was actually very right at the moment. And for once, Konan didn't feel distant or angsty.

"Same here. I wondered for a long time what this feeling was...but now it's very clear to me." Konan mentioned. She felt very relaxed all of a sudden when she felt Itachi's arm suddenly wrap around her waist from the side in a firm way. "Maybe there is a _little bit_ of an age difference, and the fact that it couldn't work out between us, but I do love you. I don't really have anyone left that I can truly relate too; I thought I did love Nagato a long time ago, but he's technically gone now."

Pausing for a few minutes, Konan thought about how she really did have no one that understood how she felt, or even really acknowledged her existence much. Maybe she did still have Pain, but he wasn't Nagato, and she didn't love him like she had thought.

Somehow, she had known all long that Itachi did acknowledge her existence. Even if she rarely even talked to him or anyone else instead of retreating to her room when not being sent out.

"You're really the only person who-"

Konan didn't get to finish that sentence. Because before she could barely get the words out of her mouth, Itachi leaned forward and kissed her lips. She was surprised at first, but that surprised feeling was completely discarded as she got really into it and wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck and deepened it. The kiss itself was merely innocent at first, but quickly became passionate as the seconds ticked by.

Although the blizzard outside raged on and the base was just as cold as the outside, both Itachi and Konan weren't as freezing anymore as the kiss became much deeper. They made the most of that moment and enjoyed the taste of each other.

It seemed like everything felt so damn _perfect_.

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"Well it's about time..." Sasori muttered under his breath as he leaned against the door to Konan's room, listening in. "I was beginning to think that would never happen."

Sasori was originally walking to the living room to watch some TV, but had stopped and started listening in on what was happening in Konan's room when he heard the former and Itachi's interesting confessions to each other. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so the puppet master decided he might as well listen in for a little bit.

And he was so right about how Konan felt about Itachi.

Unaware of the fact that Kisame had walked up behind him, a fleeting smirk appeared on his face before he backed into the shark man and gasped very slightly under his breath.

"What are you doing?"

Finally realizing that Kisame was behind him, Sasori sighed and then turned around before gesturing to the door.

"Itachi and Konan are in love with each other. And...I have a pretty good idea of what will happen next in there." Sasori mentioned matter-of-factly. He then smirked again and started walking off. When Kisame noticed him suddenly stop, he crossed his arms. "...Oh, and can you tell Deidara that he can stop his stupid 'blackmail' plan? It's kind of unnecessary, and has been for a LONG time now."

Now that Kisame was once again alone. He stared for several seconds before walking over to the door and listening in; that's when he heard a few moans of pleasure and grinned before backing away and walking back to him and Itachi's room.

"...It had to happen eventually: the one who murdered the clan is pretty much going to _restore_ it back." Kisame mentioned to himself as he walked off.

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

The kiss between Itachi and Konan had become very passionate overtime. Eventually, Konan had lied down and Itachi had gotten over her. Finally they broke the kiss for air, and the room felt unusually warmer than it had before; but it was obviously just them.

"_Wow...that was so amazing._" Konan thought; brushing her bangs off her forehead and staring looking over at the flower that was originally in her hair, now deserted on the edge of the bed. "_But...I don't want it to end here. I know it's risky, but for some reason, I want to..._"

"Konan..."

Konan blinked and looked into Itachi's eyes, as if he had read her mind, she noticed that his cheeks were a little more redder than before.

"What is it?" Konan asked; quickly slipping her arms from around the Uchiha's neck and bringing them back to herself.

"I...I know we couldn't ever get together, I don't have much of a life left anyway." Itachi explained. "I can't put my feelings for you into _words_, however, there is another way to _show_ you."

Eyes widening, Konan realized exactly what he went by that. It wasn't that she didn't _want_ that, but she knew it was kind of risky. Still, the moment felt so right. It was just the two of them. Who cares if Pain doesn't like it anyway?

It was time she went with her _own_ decisions, not anyone stopping her.

"This might be the only time we have."

"Well then...I sure don't want to waste what time we have left." Konan mentioned before grabbing her cloak and undoing it. She then lightly wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck, awaiting what would happen next.

Itachi knew that they really didn't have much time left. At least just for once, he could show her just how much he loved her. He then leaned forward and kissed her passionately again as he had quickly slipped his hands under her clothes and begun undressing her.

And the rest was pretty self-explanatory. Even as the freezing blizzard outside raged on, things were pretty hot in the room.

And everything still felt so damn perfect at the time.

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

Stirring slightly in his sleep, Itachi shivered as a sharp breeze blew outside and through the weak base walls. Weakly, he opened his eyes and then sat up and rubbed them, now fully awake.

"_...What time is it?_" Itachi thought. He glanced over at a small clock Konan had by her bed and noticed that it read _5:59 AM_. Sighing, he pushed the covers off his bare chest and then glanced over at Konan.

Konan was still lying on the other side of the bed. Her breathing was steady and peaceful. He was sort of amused that Konan was sleeping well.

She did deserve it after all. She probably hadn't been able to sleep for a while anyway.

Itachi reached over and grabbed the covers; he then placed them over her bare shoulders and then quickly kissed her cheek.

He had remembered what happened the night before. He remembered it all too well. But he actually didn't regret it, not at all.

"_I shouldn't wake her. Konan will wake up eventually anyway...when either Deidara, Hidan, or Tobi start making racket._" Itachi thought as he sighed.

After glancing at the peaceful smile on Konan's face, Itachi smirked very slightly. He hadn't ever seen her actually smile before, because she was so stoic all the time, and she really did look more beautiful when she smiled.

Almost without any sound at all, Itachi got out of the bed and put back on his clothes and cloak that were randomly discarded in the room. And then he brushed through his long raven hair with his fingers and put it back into it's long ponytail. After he was dressed, he walked over to the small silver key that was on Konan's dresser and used it to unlock the door to her room. With one last look at the sleeping Konan, he left and silently closed the door behind him.

After leaving Konan's room, Itachi started to walk back down the halls; but then he heard some footsteps and turned around to see Deidara trying to pull the film out of his camera and cursing loudly as he tried to do it.

"Deidara, what are-"

"I'm plotting blackmail! I WOULD have been able to get my revenge much sooner if this freaking stubborn film wouldn't have gotten stuck, yeah!" Deidara quickly replied as he noticed Itachi was, yet again, asking him what he was doing. "I don't know what to do. I can't explode this thing because it'll ruin the blackmail!"

Rolling his eyes, Itachi walked over and took the camera. Almost at a blinding speed, Itachi had pulled out the film and placed it and the camera back in his hands. Staring in shock, Deidara couldn't even think of shouting something back at the Uchiha as he walked back down the halls.

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"I KNEW IT!"

Itachi's eyes widened as he heard that voice; it sounded like Kisame. At a blinding speed, the Uchiha noticed the mentioned Mist swordsman and quickly and gracefully sidestepped to the wall and avoided him.

"Kisame..." Kisame just continued to grin as he walked up to Itachi. He seemingly ignored the fact that he had just ran through the very crowded in hallway and created a weird scene. Much to Itachi's confusion, he walked up to him and clasped his arm around his shoulder. "What are you doing?"

It wasn't like Kisame was not aware of the extreme confusion in Itachi's tone. He was just too caught up in the moment to realize that the poor Uchiha didn't know what he was talking about. After sending some glares in Kisame's direction, Itachi just gave up because it didn't seem to be affecting him any.

"Itachi, I just knew all this time you had some feelings for Konan..." Itachi attempted to look away and hide his face from view as heat rushed to it. "But I never expected that you would actually have sex with her. It's still a shock-"

"_How_ do you know that, Kisame?" Itachi questioned, his face almost blood red. But fortunately, Kisame didn't seem to notice.

"Let's see: there's a hickey on your neck..." Itachi's eyes traveled down and noticed that there was, in fact, a rather big mark on his neck; just a little above where his cloak collar couldn't cover it. Noticing it didn't really help him at all and he hastily placed his hand over it. "But I already knew you guys had done it anyway; I was walking past Konan's room and heard some things!"

"I see..."

"Oh, and I passed by Tobi earlier in the living room; he said that the leader wants to talk to you." Kisame mentioned. The moment became a little tense and he sighed before crossing his arms and glancing away. "Who knows what he's going to say...if he knows about what happened between you and Konan last night; things could get a little ugly. You might need to stay on your toes, just _in case_."

"I guess I'll go see what he wants then." Itachi said as he started walking off. But then a sudden thought came to mind. "_Does he know...?_"

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

She was sleeping so good. Konan didn't want to leave her bed because of that. She hadn't gotten much sleep in a about a week; because she had been busy healing Itachi's broken bones and wondering about her true feelings for him.

After finally flickering open her eyes, she yawned a little and then stretched her arms.

"I haven't slept that well in a little while. Hmm..."

Konan brushed her tousled blue hair out of her face and then sat up. She blushed a little as memories of the night before came to her. She had never really had such a good time like that before. And didn't even know Itachi was so good at it.

Wait.

Konan blinked when she noticed that the other side of the bed was empty. Itachi must have left. Sighing, she pulled the covers off her nude body and walked over to were her clothes and cloak had been randomly discarded the previous night. It could have just been her imagination, but she felt a little bit of strange feeling as she started getting dressed.

But of course, she labeled that idea as nothing. She had been experiencing lots of other strange feelings since the season begun anyway.

After getting dressed and glancing back over at the clock by her bed, and noticing it was _7:39_ in the morning, she decided to go get some breakfast and then take a shower afterward. Strangely, was feeling very ready to start the day; and _that_ really said something, because she was always so very stressed out over having to put up with the guys annoying yelling and crazy antics in the morning.

"_I wonder where Itachi went..._" Konan couldn't stop herself from wondering as she brushed her hair and fixed it back in it's usual style with the paper rose in it. "_Will the fact that we love each other change anything around here? I do not want that to interfere with anything...but I just can't seem to stop thinking about him; he's always on my mind ever since the first day of winter._"

She put the brush down and sighed aloud.

"Oh well. I should get going now."

With that said, Konan walked over to the door to leave. But she suddenly stopped and turned around to take a quick glance at the bed before blushing faintly and leaving the room.

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

Strangely, the base was pretty quiet. Konan had pretty much walked through the entire base and there was not even a little peep from anybody. Even though the season had kind of left everyone confined to their rooms, she still would hear some occasional arguing and noise.

The fact that it was so quiet gave her the impression that everyone must of unexpectedly died. But she rolled her eyes after thinking that. Rounding a corner, she discarded that thought when she encountered Pain.

Relieved that she wasn't the only one there, Konan sighed inwardly and normally greeted Pain. He returned it as usual, but she saw a look in his eyes and immediately assumed something was going on.

And she _would_ find out what.

"Pain...why is everything so quiet around here?" Konan finally asked. She sighed and then gave a briefly relieved look. "It isn't like I don't _like_ the quietness, but it is getting to me a little."

"Everyone, except _Deidara_ is outside trying to get rid of all the built up snow on the base." Pain replied. However, Konan noticed the way he put emphasis on Deidara's name and then blinked.

"Why not Deidara- Oh wait...he'll probably try to explode the snow and cause chaos..." Konan muttered under her breath. Pain heard that, and he nodded.

"I would have still sent him out there anyway, but...I walked past his room and overheard him laughing manically and then saying something about 'revenge'." Pain added. "...After hearing that, I really didn't want to know what he was doing."

"I don't know either. Anyway, is Itachi out there too?"

That question kind of confused Pain a little. Mainly because he wondered why she wanted to know where he was. After reluctantly mentioning that Itachi was out there too, he sensed that Konan had accepted that reply and started to walk off without saying anything.

"_...She's avoiding me for some reason._" Pain thought before walking off too. He had to back to his room window and watch through it to make sure everyone else outside was still trying to remove all the built up snow.

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

Outside, all the members, excluding Pain Konan and Deidara, were outside removing the last bit of snow that had built up on the base from the blizzard the previous night. For a couple of hours they all were doing anything they could to try and clear it all away so they could finally have a way out of the base and get going out on missions and capture the remaining jinchuriki.

They all have been forced to jump out of windows pretty much, just to even get outside the base. And pretty much everyone except Pain, Konan, and Itachi, were getting really sick of staying confined to their rooms.

"Finally, I think the damn snow is completely gone!" Mayumi spoke up as she started groaning and rubbing her freezing and exhausted arms. Even her two shadow clones that were frantically clawing through the thick snow to clear it all away were on the verge of disappearing from her chakra being used up.

"It better be! I'm sick of this crap! SOMEBODY needs to knock some fu-"

"OH JUST SHUT UP ALREADY, HIDAN!" Mayumi yelled as she turned around and glared at the immortal man, who was dangerously striking his scythe through the snow. "I'm getting so tired of listening to you! I GET IT!"

"Will you two knock it off?" Kisame snapped as at the two loud members.

"SHUT YOUR FREAKING MOUTH, KISAME! DON'T GET INTO THIS!" Hidan and Mayumi yelled in unison.

Kisame just sighed and went back to scraping off the snow. At long last, it was all gone; and everyone pretty much all sighed with relief.

"Well...that's over." Sasori pointed out. He didn't know why he felt the need to say that, but since he just earned everyone staring at him he continued. "I guess we're all done free to go."

"Well me and Itachi have to be free to go, because leader's sending us out to try and once again capture the Nine-Tailed jinchuriki." Kisame randomly mentioned as Itachi walked up to him after seemingly being distracted by something.

"As long as I get to rest, I'm fine with that..." Mayumi murmured under her breath as she started to hug herself from the freezing snow that was beginning to fall.

Between everyone's exchange, Itachi kind of tuned out a little because he was thinking about something; Pain had explained to him that he and Kisame were to go to the Leaf and once again try to capture the Nine-Tails. But it was quite a distance to that village, Itachi suddenly found himself feeling like he didn't want to leave Konan for that long of a time.

Though, he was sure he was just being a little too dramatic. Still, he couldn't dismiss the feeling. After all, it would take about a week probably; if they were to go at a fast speed and jump through the surrounding village's tall trees.

These thoughts, however, were interrupted as Kisame started to tap Itachi's shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey, Itachi..."

Closing in his eyes, becoming annoyed by him tapping his shoulder, Itachi turned around to look at him.

"What is it?"

"We should get going now. The sooner we head out the better..."

Itachi, of course, _knew_ that they should hurry and head out. Or they would just be wasting time. But still, Itachi couldn't stop thinking about Konan. He also knew that he really didn't have much of a life left; anything could wrong if him and Kisame were to get into a fight with the jinchuriki.

He wouldn't have much of an advantage, even with his Sharingan. And what if he got killed? Konan probably wouldn't be able to take another person she cared about dying. Itachi knew she really did care about him after all: evidenced by how she was so determined to help him and couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Then let's get going..." Itachi said. The two started to walk off then. And the other Akatsuki out there gave them a quick glance before going back to talking amongst themselves.

"...Wait, Itachi."

Everything became silent after that one word. Itachi and Kisame stopped walking and turned around, everyone else including Mayumi looked over as well. What they all saw: was Konan standing at the entrance to the base. She looked emotionless as usual, but Itachi and Mayumi both saw the suspicious look in her eyes.

The snow that had previously stopped all of a sudden, started up again. But it wasn't really like another blizzard or anything, it was very light and almost innocent. Konan walked up to Itachi and seemed just a little hesitant as she did that.

"Konan, what is it-"

"Itachi...be careful. I don't want you to get injured, or worse; killed." Konan said, her voice lowering slightly as she scratched her cheek nervously. "I know you're strong, but still...I love you. You're important to me..."

"That won't happen, Konan." Everyone else exchanged looks in confusion at Itachi and Konan. "I'll make sure."

Konan nodded. But then she glanced away for a few seconds and seemed to forget about the fact that everyone else, including Pain who was watching through the window, was there. She leaned in and kissed Itachi as the snow started falling much faster and the sharp winds picked up. Even though he was a little surprised by the action, Itachi kissed back and deepened the kiss just a little more.

This, of course, earned the two a collection of whistles and surprised looks. After her surprise more off, Mayumi hide another knowing smirk behind her hand. She then glanced up at the base; where Pain's window was. She saw his emotionless face, but his eyes kind of gave away everything. She sighed after that, but then went back to smirking over the fact that she pulled everything off.

The moment Konan had wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck, and he slipped his around her wasit, Deidara came running outside while panting and holding a small-sized box. Everyone else gave him "WTF?" looks as he caught his breath.

"I...I did it, yeah! Everything...everything I need to blackmail Itachi is all HERE!" Deidara announced frantically as he begun to smirk evilly.

That scene made almost everyone else roll their eyes. Hidan, Kisame, and Mayumi facepalmed instead.

"Deidara, will just STOP this?" Sasori finally spoke up as he walked over. "Seriously, it's _over_."

"Over...? What's over?" Deidara asked in shock after blinking repeatedly. Sasori raised his arm and gestured to Itachi and Konan, who were still kissing and totally ignoring their surroundings.

"See? It's over. I think they're done denying everything if they have the nerve to kiss passionately out here in front of all of us." Sasori explained matter-of-factly. "When you think about it, your 'blackmail' plan was completely useless..."

"He's right!" Mayumi called out.

Everyone kind of knew that Sasori was right. Ever since the season begun, Deidara had been unnecessarily sneaking around and attempting to 'blackmail' Itachi. Obviously, his plan was out of nothing more than spite. It really had _nothing_ to do with anything.

It was safe to say at that point: he wasted his time.

"Besides, HOW would sneaking around and taking various pictures of Itachi and Konan be blackmail?" Sasori pointed out. "Maybe in some...weird point of view: it could have embarrassed them a little bit. Mainly, you never did have actual _blackmail_ this entire time."

"It would have been more easier to just put some clay birds in Itachi's room and then explode them when he went in there!" Mayumi called out again. She hoped that she was helping. After quickly glancing at Itachi and Konan, she just went back to smirking.

"So...I JUST WASTED MY TIME?" Deidara snapped. Everyone nodded. And upon realizing he did all that for nothing, Deidara slipped one hand into his bag of clay. "...I'll be right back after I take care of something, yeah."

With that said, Deidara's eye twitched and he quickly walked back into the base while glaring at the box. The minute he had entered the base, Itachi and Konan had broke the kiss for air and kind of stayed in that same position; locking eyes with each other.

All was silent. Until...

"**KATSU!**"

A big explosion suddenly occurred inside the base. When that happened, the doors to the base were destroyed and the remains of them fell to the snowy ground. Then various pieces of cardboard were thrown outside into the snow and Deidara started laughing insanely.

"...Well, I think everything and everybody is back to normal." Kakuzu mentioned. Everyone else couldn't have agreed more with him at the moment.

Itachi and Konan still were tuning out to their surroundings and then they both sighed.

"If something does happen to you, I won't forgive myself for not being able to heal your disease." Konan commented, almost as if warning him.

"Don't worry, Konan." Itachi replied, he then quickly caressed her face and gave a glare to a grinning Kisame before walking off with his partner.

Having walked a little bit, they both then disappeared ninja-style. Leaving everyone else behind. And Konan sighed as she looked up at the beautiful falling snow.

Somehow, her lips twitched and were trying to form a smile. But she quickly stopped herself in time and remained looking impassive.

"_...Konan..._" Mayumi thought, crossing her arms and shaking her head just a little bit. "_I'm actually glad I was able to help you. And I am very grateful for Reiji's help. Maybe my first words to you; describing Itachi as your boyfriend, will become reality._"

Sasori briefly looked at Mayumi and blinked several times when he noticed her. And he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking and why she looked so proud of herself. This caused him to make a mental note to later ask her how she fit into the situation.

Finally, after several more minutes passed, everyone decided it would be best to go back inside. Because standing out in the snow like that was starting to affect them, making them shiver and try to warm their hands. All the guys and Mayumi at the end walked back into the base. Just as Mayumi made it to the entrance she looked over at Konan, who was in deep thought as she stared at the snow repeating it's never-ending cycle and beautifully falling in many shapes to the ground.

"Konan! Are you coming inside?" Mayumi called out after adjusting her crossed out Leaf headband that was loosely tied around her small-ish waist.

"I'll be there soon!" Konan called back, waving her hand dismissively afterward.

Blinking, Mayumi then sighed and threw her arms in the air before smirking and walking back inside. Seeing that she was once again alone, Konan looked behind her briefly and then walked just a little distance away from the base. Her footsteps were becoming visible in the puffy snow and she stopped walking and stared as the snow fell over it; soon to cover it completely.

Finally, Konan arrived at her destination: the exact same area where her and Itachi had ended up at together the day she challenged everyone to an all-out snowball fight. Memories overcame her and she sat down a snow-covered log that was there.

"It's interesting..." Konan said to herself as she crossed one leg over the other and then dipped her other hand into the puffy snow covering the other side of the log. "Back a little while ago; I despised this season and everything about it. But now..."

Looking at the beautiful scene before her: white puffy snow covering the ground, snow in various shapes falling everywhere, bare trees, even the many clouds covering the sky, the paper mistress realized that the season wasn't all that bad. Somehow, it was actually beautiful. Maybe it was a little lonely and deserted though, but that's the whole appeal to it.

Her hatred of it might have just come from being lonely. But...she really didn't have a reason to hate it anymore; she wasn't lonely. There was still at least _one_ person.

One person she loved. One person that she would die to save. Even though his life was fleeting more and more everyday.

"Winter isn't all that bad." Konan said in almost a whisper. Her skin was beginning to crinkle from the sharp winds, but she just continued to sit there. "...Especially when there is someone who understands you."

Even though Konan was feeling a little less down about the season, she still worried about Itachi. Normally, she wouldn't have. But anything could happen to him: he's losing his eyesight and has a disease that nobody, not even her, could _cure_.

Realizing that, Konan lowered her head slightly as she sighed.

"_Itachi...please be alright. I wouldn't be able to take it if another person I cared about died. If you did die so soon...well, suicide would probably be tempting then. The sad thing is...I still need to be around by Pain's side._" Konan thought. "_...Oh, this is such a stressful situation. Just be alright, I do really love you._"

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

_**[Epilogue]**_

Days passed and eventually a full month had passed since Itachi and Kisame left for the Hidden Leaf to attempt to capture the host of the Nine-Tails. During that time, Pain was being able to send other members out as well because of the less-frequent blizzards popping up.

Things were pretty much back to normal for everyone. Nothing really out of place, except for the fact that Deidara became _more_ determined than ever to get back at Itachi. Sasori tried to keep him in place, but it really wasn't working. The puppet master also kept coming very close to asking Mayumi how she fit into Itachi and Konan's situation several times, but usually Hidan would randomly enter the picture and say something to upset Mayumi. It as if he _loved_ upsetting her, because Sasori would always see the amused smirk that the Jashinist wore when Mayumi would get pissed off.

Mayumi was actually beginning to fit in. It took some time though, but she felt more and more comfortable around everyone, except Hidan, as time passed on. She and Konan started getting along too; and they would occasionally speak with each other. The former Leaf kunoichi had also been sent out on various missions requiring stealth. Pain seemed to take notice that she was weak when it came to combat or ninjutsu, but her stealth skills were actually impressive, and she still could land a few strong blows of taijutsu. Mayumi wasn't sure if Pain had gotten used to her, but she had gotten comfortable around him; yet, still blushed quite vividly when he said good things of her abilities or got a _little_ too close to her.

Between all this, however, Konan was patiently waiting for when Itachi would return. She still was worried about him, and everyday hoped that once or _if_ the captured the jinchuriki and returned, she could attempt to heal his disease. Maybe she would be wasting her time, and maybe the disease was incurable...but she would try anything to help him. He was very important to her.

The first few weeks after Itachi and Kisame left, Konan noticed that same strange feeling coming back to her. It wasn't a good one, she felt really ill and had been spending much more time in her room. Pain, of course, took notice to that immediately. When questioning her about it, she assured him it was nothing.

But she continued to feel sick.

She had been vomiting frequently, feeling drained, and sometimes snapping at others. Mayumi was actually the first to be convinced that this "illness" Konan had was nothing. So, catching on to what it probably was, Mayumi had confronted Konan about it; giving her _something_.

Yet another day passed afterward. Konan had walked over to her bedroom window and looked out to see _only_ Kisame walking into the base. Confused, she knew she had to go investigate what was happening.

Why was it only Kisame returning? Where was Itachi? Those questions floated through Konan's mind and worried her as she walked up to the meeting room and quietly placed her ear against the door to hear what Kisame was reporting to Pain.

"Kisame? Where is Itachi? Did you capture the jinchuriki?" Konan heard her old friend ask.

"...Ah...we didn't ever get to the village..."

Konan blinked repeatedly at that and felt her heart pounding against her chest as she continued to listen.

"You didn't get to the village?"

"We were almost there...but then...well, I noticed Itachi seemed looking exhausted after we had gotten into a fight with some random Leaf shinobi that were leaving the village for some mission. I asked him what was wrong; but he said it was nothing. Though I _wasn't_ convinced at all."

"What happened then? I'm not really understanding what you're trying to say, Kisame."

"I was able to convince him that we should rest though. And he agreed. After resting for about thirty minutes, we got up to leave...but then...that's when his little brother appeared with a murderous look in his eyes." Konan felt her eyes widen as Kisame continued. "I didn't want him to get in the way AGAIN, so I went in for an attack; but Itachi stopped me and said he'd handle it _himself_..."

"_What the hell? Wh-what happened to Itachi? He didn't get killed, did he?_" Konan thought in horror. "_Itachi...if he got killed, I won't be able to-_"

She heard Pain sigh. And then placed her ear back to the door and listened in. She had to find out about what happened. She just _had_ too.

"If he did appear, you shouldn't have let Itachi fight him himself."

"I know that! But you don't know what their relationship is like; it's...complicated. But I'm not really sure about what happened, because Itachi just told me that he would fight Sasuke himself and then started saying some angsty things to him." Konan's face briefly fell, but it was fleeting. "I'm not sure what went down after that, but it must have been very intense. I had went on ahead to the village; but after a few hours I failed to get the jinchuriki and retreated."

"_BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO ITACHI?_" Konan thought as she furrowed her eyebrows together and felt a little spontaneous anger coming to her.

"I see. Well, there are other chances to capture the Nine-Tails jinchuriki; there still are a few left other than him. But if you retreated, then _what_ happened to Itachi?"

There was tense silence after that. Konan had assumed that Kisame must have been hesitant to say what happened to him. But once he _did_ say what happened to the Uchiha, Konan's eyes widened and she thought she felt tears well up in her eyes.

"...When I came back to the spot, I found Itachi..._dead_. And it obviously wasn't because of Sasuke, it probably was his disease..."

Those first few words did it. Konan stunned expression flashed over her face, before she felt the tears begin to run down her cheeks.

She couldn't believe it. She felt so sick at the moment after that, and quickly rubbed her eyes with her cloak sleeve and walked back to her room. Suddenly, she didn't want to even hear the rest.

As Konan walked back to her room, a shocked Mayumi came out from around one of the corners, were she had seen everything and heard it all, and stood there with a sad look on her eyes.

"_Konan...oh, WHY did it have to be this way?_" Mayumi thought as she trembled slightly. "_Itachi just had to die so soon, with Konan being..._"

Quickly, Konan entered her room and almost slammed the door behind her. Tears were running down her eyes freely. The paper mistress couldn't even remember the last time she had cried like that, and hated to just break down.

But there was a good reason too: Itachi _died_. Itachi! The only other person who really did understand her, the only person she actually ever fell in love with, the person who-

Konan tried to dismiss those thoughts as she sat on the edge of her bed and grabbed her knees and held them together.

"Itachi...why did it have to be SO soon? He doesn't deserve to die, he doesn't deserve all that's happened to him!" Konan pretty much choked out under her breath. It was very, very hard to even talk because she felt so sick; like she would throw up at any time. And she was so speechless at the moment. "He was such a good person...and I love him..._why_ is it always the people I care about the most that die?"

Several memories suddenly overcame her. Konan got completely lost in them: recalling some of the encounters they had since the season started, recalling the things she had said to him and the things he said to her, and recalling the times they kissed. But most of all: she cried just a tiny bit harder when she recalled the last things they had said to each other:

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

"_If something does happen to you, I won't forgive myself for not being able to heal your disease."_

"_Don't worry, Konan."_

_**[::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

It was the way Itachi had said "don't worry, Konan." that made her feel terrible. He said it...with a almost a different tone; as if he was trying to comfort her, but knew at the same time that something would go wrong. It seemed like...he just somehow knew it...

She remembered the way he had caressed her face too; it was very innocent yet sad. Yet, she still pretty much melted from his touch. She loved it.

...And loved _him_.

"_Ugh...this was bound to happen eventually. I understood completely. So why am I sitting here crying over it now?_" Konan thought as she quickly tried to wipe away the tears. "_I-I guess I just wish that I could have been able to do something to help him._"

Yet...Konan knew she couldn't have done anything anyway. She sighed and then walked into her bathroom. As she closed the door behind her, she cursed her sadness under her breath and walked over to the small box she had on the counter and pulled something out.

Konan knew that she loved everything about Itachi. She accepted him; one-hundred percent sure that he felt the same. She wanted to be with him forever; after they had sex, that was her last thought before she drifted off to sleep.

But he was gone. She had no choice but to suck everything up and move on.

Done in the bathroom, Konan opened the door slowly and walked out. She then sat down on her bed and just kept staring at the _positive_ pregnancy test in her hands.

"...Positive."

Tears once again welled up in her eyes. But was hard to determine what they were from. Even Konan herself didn't know. And at that point, she was debating whether or not she could move on.

Unbeknownst to her, Pain was watching. He had the door slightly ajar and heard what she just said. After sighing with almost no sound at all, he silently closed the door back and leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed.

"_Konan..._" Pain thought. He shook his head and then glanced down at the floor. "_I feel sorry for you._"

Pain then walked off. He knew he shouldn't have gotten involved at the moment.

And much later as Konan got into her bed to go to sleep, she convinced herself that she would still go on. Even though she lost another person she really cared about, she wouldn't let that take over her life. Her feelings for Itachi would still be there, buried deep within her heart, but she still wouldn't forget _any_ of the romance in the snow.

_**The End.**_

_**[:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::]**_

_**...WOW. Okay, THIS was the longest chapter. O.O I can't believe this fic is finally complete! It took long enough, huh? :)**_

_**Looking back, I guess this fic wasn't as bad as I thought. But I still think it could have been better. And I'm sorry if some parts (the ending especially) was rushed. -.- Even on the weekend, I barely had any time to type it all! But hey, at least I did it. And...*Laughs nervously* sorry about the wait! I wanted to MAKE SURE the ending was good and summed everything up well.**_

_**The good news is: I completed the story. More good news is: with the way this story ended, there IS a slight sequel chance. Before anyone starts to ask me about a sequel, I want to say that I'm not completely sure if I will write a sequel. If I do, it will have to be once I can post a few more chapters to other fics that I want to get back to. So...if I DO write a sequel, it would have to be sometime next year. :(**_

_**Anyway, I'm glad I could write this fic, because there needs to be some more ItachixKonan fics. It's a cute pairing to me, and it is NOT stupid or gross! It makes WAY more sense than Ino, Anko, Hana, Sakura, Kurenai, or Temari being paired with him. At least these two might have actually seen each other more than once. And who knows? They could have had a little interaction! At least, that's what I think. :) I also hope to write more of this pairing in the future; I don't care what the haters say. *Sticks tongue out briefly at ItachixKonan haters***_

_**I would like to say thanks to these two people: **_**SilenceCat ****_and my friend_ Mandy._ SilenceCat was the first reviewer and actually gave me the idea to turn this once-oneshot into a multi-chaptered fic. ^^ And my friend, Mandy, "hinted" a few plot ideas to me. She also let me borrow her OCs: Mayumi and Reiji._**

_**Thanks. ^^**_

_**Let me say this again: I'm not sure if this ending was good. But...I hope someone actually likes it anyway!**_

_**Read and review. *Eyes turn starry***_


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